Cats' Cradle
by FantasyBard
Summary: Being an original story, unrelated to my previous Moonlight timeline. In the aftermath of Sonata, things seemed to have settled down in Los Angeles. A brutal murder of a teenager will bring to light new secrets that have long been hidden in the shadows of moonlight. Once this game of cats' cradle is over, the world will never be the same.
1. Murder by Moonlight

**Hello there, Moonlight readers, both old and new. As you may know, I have written a number of stories in the Moonlight universe, dealing with my own OC's and mythology. However, in the last few months, I have been running into some major writer's block. Looking back over my stories, I am thinking that I might go back over some of them and try to do some rewrites and edits. **

**But, while I work on that, I was inspired by another idea. Moonlight is a constant source of enjoyment for me, but since it only ran for sixteen episodes, we didn't get really enough time to explore everything or everyone properly. So, I have decided to try a little experiment, and create an entirely different continuity and storyline. **

**That being the case, I will soon be introducing my new main character, Audrey Starre. Eventually, she is going to be with Josef (what can I say? some things never do change), but that will be at some point in the future. I am planning on some twists and turns that I will not be revealing at this time, but which I am interested in seeing if anyone can guess as the story goes on. **

**Now, time to get the logistics out of the way. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Moonlight. It belongs to CBS. I am only making this out of an obsession to try and keep the magic of Moonlight alive and well even after all these years. **

**Rated T for violence and disturbing scenes. **

**Cats' Cradle**

**After nearly being exposed to the world at the end of "Sonatoa", things in LA finally seemed to have settled down for it's undead residents. However, the ending of Sonata was merely the beginning of a new story. New threats and new secrets are hiding in the shadows of the moonlight, and when they are revealed, everything will change. **

**When a brutal murder of a young man is called to Mick's attention, he is mystified when the corpse reveals signs of not being human, and yet not a vampire. When FBI Agent Audrey Starre arrives in LA to being her investigation, things become more tangled. Audrey obviously has more secrets than she is letting on, and her connection to Josef is hardly a coincidence. **

**Mick and Beth are about to find out that vampires are not the only supernatural creatures that live alongside humanity. Nor that there are enemies who are willing to see them all destroyed. Yes, the world as they know it, whether for good or ill, will never again be the same after this game of cats cradle is over. **

**Chapter I: Murder by Moonlight**

The moon was high in the sky over LA. The stars were shinning brightly, twinkling in the dark sky. There was a light breeze from out of the southwest, and on a small stretch of beach just outside of Los Angeles. Two figures were swimming and playing in the water.

The older one was named Eddy. He was eighteen years old, and had the typical sun-tanned good looks of a California native. He was of a middling height, with messy blond hair and gray eyes.

His little brother, Hank, was twelve. Sharing the same blond hair as his brother, but with blue eyes, the two had long been inseparable. They were on their first solo vacation away from their parents. They had driven down the Pacific coast from Monterrey to spend a few days in Los Angeles. The two of them had been psyched, doing everything that they could possibly cram into a few short days.

But, tonight they were taking a trip out from the crowded urban jungle to do some swimming. Technically, they shouldn't have been swimming in the water at that hour of the night. However, swimming in any sort of situation just happened to be something that they were both very good at.

If a passerby were to pause and study them closely, they might have seen that the two boys both had an natural affinity with the element of water. They seemed able to move seamlessly with the ebb and flow of the waves. They never lost their balance on the slippery sand of the sea floor, as though they were connected securely to the very shore. They might have even seen that Eddy himself was a gifted swimmer. Almost to gifted. Had they bothered to count the seconds that he stayed underwater during one dive, it would have been was far longer than any normal human should have been able to do.

Indeed, though both Hank and Eddy were obviously very good swimmers, about Eddy in particular, one might have said that he almost seemed to be part fish.

When their little swim was over, they went back to the car that was parked along the shore, and relaxed on the front hood. "Good job on your butterfly, Hank." said Eddy, with a grin and an affectionate tussling of his hair. "Keep practicing like that, and you'll make the swim team at school in no time."

"I know." said Hank, his eyes shinning excitedly. "I can hardly wait. But, I still can't swim as well as you do. It's like you're connected to the water."

"You just wait a few more years, buddy. Once the Changing happens to you in a few years, you'll see the world in a different way." Eddy put his arm around his brother's shoulder and pointed out to the sea. "Out there, Hank, there is a whole other world in that ocean waiting for you. There's nothing like it, the taste of the salt water and spending hours underneath the water. You see things that no one other human can. It's fantastic, just you wait."

"And I'll finally be able to keep up with you, maybe I'll be even faster than you." said Hank, as he launched himself at Eddy, and a wrestling match between the two brothers was quickly underway.

However, the time for fun and game quickly took a dark turn for the worst. Eddy's laughter suddenly faded. He froze and rose to his feet, turning to look down the road that they had come down to arrive at the beach. Only he wasn't just looking with his eyes. If anyone had had the ability, they might very well have heard something resembling high-pitched clicks emanating from Eddy's direction. And after just a few seconds of hearing those clicks, Eddy's reaction turned to one of deadly seriousness.

"Hank, Hank get in the car!" Eddy cried.

"What? Why-?"

"Don't argue, just get in the car."

Hank scrambled to his feet and tried to run for the car, but it was to late. Gun shot rang out through the silent night, peppering the shore line with a deadly hail. Eddy and Hank dove fro the ground, but Hank's frightened cry of pain drove all thoughts of self-preservation from Eddy's mind.

"Hank! Hank!" Eddy crawled over to his brother, and turned him over. There was blood oozing from a wound on his shoulder, and he was unconscious.

Eddy knew that he had little time. He was already beginning to hear the approaching car, the car that he somehow knew the shots had come from. He didn't know who was coming. He didn't know who was shooting at them, or why. But deep seated instincts, human and otherwise were urging him to flee. Danger was close.

Without thinking, Eddy scooped his brother's body and raced for the water, the one place where he knew he could be safe.

But just short of the waves, the bullets found their mark in Eddy's back, and he fell into the sand at the water's edge.

It was only a short while later that a highway patrolman came upon the gruesome scene. Eddy was dead. His throat and chest had been slashed open. Nearby lay his brother, still unconscious and bleeding.

The moon was high that night, and there was blood in the water.

**I know that none of the main characters appeared in this scene, but think of it as a teaser for the story to come. Don't worry, we get to see all of our favorite beloved characters in just the next chapter. **


	2. A Busy Morning

**Chapter II: A Busy Morning**

one of the difficulties of navigating vampire/human relationships as adjusting to vastly different schedules. Mick and Beth were still trying to work that out, and though they had made some progress, there were still some things that they couldn't avoid.

Beth still had a day job that she needed to be up for, and that meant there was only so late that she could stay up on certain days. Mick, being self-employed, had the luxury of being able to set his own hours. But he was still, by nature, nocturnal. Thusly, there were times on particularly busy mornings when the two of could be as ships that passed in the night.

That morning was one of those mornings. Mick was making Beth coffee, when she came hurrying down the steps, her cell phone firmly attached to her ear and talking a mile a minute. "What does it look like, Ben...? okay, I'll be right there... what? What else...? is it really that serious...? Yes, I'm just heading out the door right now."

she hung up the phone and turned to Mick. "I take it from that conversation that breakfast is out of the question this morning?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so." said Beth, as she came forward to take Mick's offered coffee as well as a quick kiss. "Ben wants me on the scene of murder that happened just outside of town. I'm sorry. I know how much you enjoy watching me eat."

"Hey, don't worry." said Mick, as he put his hands on her shoulders. "I respect the fact that you have a career. It's important to you and I would never try to stand in the way of that."

"I know that, Mick." her voice became husky, as she leaned in a little closer. "Besides, I could try to make it up to you tonight."

Mick's eyes sparked with interest and he put is arm arms around her. "Oh, I'll be looking forward to that."

He leaned in to give her deep kiss, but at the last moment, Mick's cell phone went off. Scowling, Mick reached for his phone, as Beth said, "You know, it might be for the best. I really need to get going and you are distracting me."

Mick called after her as she left the door. "Only because you make it so difficult for me to concentrate."

When Beth had shut the door to the loft, Mick answered his phone. "Guillermo, what is it?"

"Hi, Mick. Sorry for getting you up this early, but I've got something pretty important to tell you. A body came in this morning that I think you need to take a look at."

Mick frowned. "What do you mean? The DA hasn't really been all that welcoming of my dropping into the morgue to check out random bodies."

"I know, Mick. But this is a pretty special case. I can't explain it over the phone. Just get down here, and I'll show you what I mean."

The rising of the sun brought with it a changeover at the headquarters of Koston Industries as well. Josef was an all night worker most of the time, and though he could work in the early morning or even later afternoon, it was normal for him to leave his office as the was rising, trusting his team to keep up with the business in as effective and profitable as when he was at the helm.

However, even he sometimes needed an update. Just as he was about to leave that morning, Simone came into the room. "Morning, Simone." said Josef, greeting her with an easy smile. "You look very peppy for this hour of the morning. You have a lat night last night?"

"In a manner of speaking. I was on a date."

"Good, I'm glad to hear it." Said Josef, "Anybody that I know?"

"Not yet, but I can tell you that he doesn't work for any one of your rivals."

"In that case, he has my full approval."

Josef was glad to hear that Simone was dating again. Last month when he and Simone had been starting to get almost a little to close for his liking, Simone had been dropping some subtle hints that she wanted to be turned (these subtle hints normally had a direct correlation to how much alcohol she had consumed). Josef had not been enthusiastic about the idea, for many reasons. He had finally told Simone that he just couldn't go through with anything like that, and she had gotten the idea that maybe immortality wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.

At any rate, Josef was grateful that they could leave that behind them, and that he could still retain Simone's services, as she was a damn god lawyer.

"What do you have for me today? You're not normally in this early unless it's something important."

"I know that, Josef. I just got a call this morning before I came in. someone on your watch list has suddenly started moving."

"Really? That is one item that does capture my interest."

"I still don't know why you need this watch list, Josef. You've always seemed completely secure in this city."

"I might be secure in my city, Simone, but that's only been the case for the past thirty years. I've made a lot of enemies over the years, both human and vampire. I like to keep track of where all of those people are and what they all are doing. That way, I can stay one step ahead of them if they ever try to make trouble."

Simone shook her head. "Sounds an awful like your paranoia talking to me."

"Don't knock paranoia, Simone. When you've lived as long as I have, you learn that the best way to avoid getting killed is to kill the other guy first. Who is on the move this time?"

"Someone that I have to admit I don't know a lot about." she handed Josef a file. "She's an FBI agent named Audrey Starre."

Josef's entire expression changed when he heard that name. The normally cynical smirk vanished, to be replaced by a look of utmost seriousness. He glanced through the file, not looking at Simone during his next few questions. "Where is she? Still located out of Chicago, right?"

"Yes, but early this morning, she landed at LAX."

"Where's she staying?"

"The Marine del Ray Marriott in Santa Monica."

"Any idea why she's here or how long she'll be staying?"

"Not yet, the details are very hazy. There was something about a high profile case from all the radio chatter I was getting. Josef, what is this all about? I could barely find any information on this woman; almost everything on her in your system was classified, for your eyes only."

Josef seemed to shake himself and tried to smile reassuringly at Simone. "There's nothing to worry about, Simone. I'll take it from here."

Simone looked doubtfully at him, but if there was anything that she had learned in her brief relationship with Josef, it was that he was incredibly tight-lipped when it came to his secrets. It was such moments as these which made her think that perhaps she had made the right choice in not pursuing the vampire way of life any further.

As Josef left the office that morning, he knew that sleep would be the last thing on his mind for awhile. Audrey Starre was in LA, and that could only mean one thing. It wasn't a direct threat to vampires, but it could very easily lead to people asking to many questions. So soon after the debacle with Emma and Jackson Monaghan, that was attention that he could live without.

He knew that this needed to be handled delicately, however. The territory that was about to crossed was complicated to say the least. Most of the people or organizations on his watch list he could put a definite name to. It was easy to predict how a vampire or human would react, but Audrey was neither of these categories. She was something else entirely. Dealing with her kind always made him nervous.

To make sure that he was on top of this, he intended to get in contact with Starre before the day was out. He needed to know why she was in his city, and to remind her that while she was in Los Angeles, she needed to play by his rules, for the good of both his kind and her own.

* * *

It had become a familiar scene for Beth over the last few months. The small stretch of beach was surrounded by at least five police cars and thrre was yellow tape all over the crime scene. Ben was already there, and he appearesd exhausted. "Ben, are you all right?" Beth asked, as she came over to him.

"Yeah, Beth. It's just been a long night. I got called out here at two in the morning. I saw them taking the body of that kid away. It was brutal, even by the standards of the cases that I've seen. A twelve year old boy was also shot alongside his brother. It was a bad wound, and they don't know if he'll make it."

"What about the murder victim?" Beth asked.

"Yeah, take a look. The photos are pretty gruesome." He handed her some of the photos that forensics had taken before the victim had been taken away.

Beth gasped when she saw the images of the mutilated body of an eighteen year old boy, with his throat and chest cut open. There was blood literally sprayed all over the sand. "Oh my god." Beth breathed, "I've never seen anything like this. Who could do anything like this?"

"That's what we're trying to find out." said Ben, "All we know for sure is that the deceased's name was Eddy Moore. His brother's name is Hank. They were down here on a vacation away from their parents. We took the car in for analysis. Hopefully we'll be able to find something that could give us some more informatioon."

"Still, it seems insane. Who would target two children in the open like thiis "

Ben wasn't the one to answer that question, though. Rather, it was from someone who was already within the perimeter of police tape. "Don't try and look for a logical explanation. I can promise that it won't happen."

The speaker, a woman turned around herto face them. She was about Beth's height, with an athletic build. Her hair was midnight black, and her eyes were gray. Beth guessed her age to be about thirty, and it was clear from the expression in her eyes, that she was one those people who knew their craft inside and out. Beth, on just one sight, knew that she would never want to get on her bad side.

However, Ben seemed to know her. He smiled when he saw her. "Audrey, you got here quick."

"I got the first plane out of Chicago that I could." said the woman, as she came towards them and she and Ben shook hands. Beth couldn't help but notice the way that the newcomer moved; it was graceful and balanced, as though she was sure of every step. Beth would have said that she was almost like a vampire, but at the same time, she wasn't showing any aversion to the sunlight. Mick would need shield his eyes from the sun when it was this bright out.

Ben turned to Beth, and indicated the woman next to him. "Beth Turner, FBI Agent Audrey Starre out of Chicago."

"Nice to meet you at last, Miss Turner." said Audrey, as she shook hands with Beth. "Ben here has told me a lot about you."

"Really?" siad Beth, "How do you two know each other?"

"We went to college together." said Ben, "Audrey is the best in her field. She specializes in these types of cases."

"What types?" Beth asked.

"Cult murders, like this." said Audrey. Beth and Ben had crossed the yellow tape by this point. "It's not something that's always given a lot of press time in the media, but it's growing more and more common. Cults can spring up all over the United States at a moment's notice. Before you know it, a public menace is on hand."

Audrey knelt down at the large pool of blood on the shoreline. "I've been following this particular cult for a few years, trying to bring their main followers to justice, but they have proven to be frustratingly elusive."

"Does this cult have any sort of name or belief system as to why they would murder boys?" Beth asked.

"I'm afraid not." said Audrey. "This cult is highly secretive and mobile. Last year, another string of murders similar to this one occurred in Seattle. They've also popped up in Maine, New Jersey, even in my own Chicago. There doesn't seem to be any pattern to the killings, nothing that corresponds to a belief system. They target black and white, young and old. All that they have in common is the unfortunate images that you've probably seen by now."

"The slashing open of the victim. Yeah, it seems like a pretty extreme way to kill someone, even for a serial killer."

"The aren't just cutting open the bodies, Beth. They take organs, body parts. I would call them trophies, but that's to tame a word."

As Beth tried to process this, Ben stepped in, "Audrey, as I said, is an expert. And since you seem to have a knack for this sort of thing, Beth, I was hoping that the two of you could work together on this case."

"What do you mean I have a knack for this sort of thing?"

"Meaning cases that tumble over from being murderous and psychotic, to strange and unexplainable. You just have a gift for the macabre, Beth."

"Gee, thanks. I guess."

Audrey gave Ben an affectionate smirk. "Take that as a compliment, Beth. Ben has an odd sense of gallantry. But he must be right. You looked at those pictures without tossing your cookies. You must have a harder stomach for this kind of work than most people. I would be glad of your help."

"All right." said Beth, "I'll do whatever you think I can to help you bring whoever did this to justice. Where do we start?"

"We need to go over the crime scene with a fine tooth comb," said Audrey, "I want every inch of this beach searched for anything. I don't care how small it is, if it seems out of place, bag it or photograph it. I'll also want to take a look at the body. These people are thorough, but there is always the chance that they could have left something behind."

"I've already got someone working on the autopsy. I'll let you know as soon as he's finished." said Ben.

Audrey's cell phone suddenly began to ring. As she looked down at the caller ID, she said to them, "I actually need to take this. I'll be right back."

"Right." said Ben, "Just don't take to long. I need your eyes, Audrey. The best time to catch people like this is within the first seventy-two hours."

Audrey walked a little ways from the crime scene, where she as certain that she wouldn't be overheard. "Hello, Audrey Starre."

"Agent Starre," came the voice on the other end. "Welcome to Los Angeles."

Audrey couldn't help but smirk. That sardonic tone of voice had barely changed since the last time she had encountered him. "Josef Koston. It's been a long time."

"I know, almost 25 years. Did you miss me so much that you just needed to show up unannounced in my city?"

"I think we both know that I wouldn't be here if it weren't important, Josef."

"Than I think both of us also know that we are overdue for a chat."

"I believe that I can gt behind that, Koston. Your place or mine?"

* * *

_Mick's POV_

_I didn't smell anything unusual when I went into the morgue that morning. You get used to the smell of blood and guts, along with the constant stench of antiseptic. Guillermo is even more hardened to it than I am. But, I was wrong in thinking that this would be just another day at the morgue._

When Mick came into the room where Guillermo was working on his latest corpse, he said without really looking at the body first, "Okay, Guillermo, what's so important that you couldn't tell me over the phone-?" He stopped mid-sentence when his eyes finally focused on the body. "Oh my god." He breathed in shock.

_Mick's Pov_

_Sometimes, I'm positive that there is nothing that can shock me on this job anymore, that I've always seen the very worst brutality that human of vampire would be capable of. Than the universe always has something in store for me that proves I'm wrong._

The body of the young man had been cleaned and stitched up as best as could be done. However, there was only so much that even a pathologist of Guillermo's skill could accomplish. And even without that, Mick could smell just how horrible this body had been mutilated. There were multiple lacerations along the chest and neck area, showing that those two areas of the body had been cut open with surgical precision. When Mick looked over at Guillermo for conformation, the vampire nodded in confirmation, "I know, I told you it was bad. It was the gun shot that killed him, but whoever did this couldn't settle for just that."

"But why would someone do this?" Mick asked, his detective sense immediately kicking into gear.

Guillermo shook his head. "Honestly, Mick, the details are sketchy even for me. They're keeping very tight-lipped about this upstairs, even been rumors that the FBI is coming in on this."

"So, why did you call me down here?"

"Because of this." Guillermo stepped over to a computer screen, and typed a few things on the keyboard. Immediately photos appeared of the body before Guillermo had finished stitching it up, along with detailed notes. "These people didn't just cut Eddy Moore to pieces, they were very selective in what they were looking for, part of his throat tissue, as well as part of his lungs."

Mick looked at Guillermo. "Most killers just take a finger if they want a souvenir that badly."

"That's not the only thing. Mick, this kid's overall physiology is screwed up. There was still enough of his lungs left for me to test, and the amount of salt water I found in them should have killed him. And look at the way his breathing structure is made up," He pointed out the photos and x rays he had taken. "There are slight differences to that of a regular human, almost as though he could breath underwater if put to the test."

Mick stared at the information on the screen for a long time. "You're right, Guillermo, this is something that you wouldn't have been able to explain on the phone."

Before the conversation could get any further, both vampires smelled the approach of a stranger coming into the room. Reacting quickly, Guillermo took the flash drive from the computer and stored it in his pocket. "Like I said," he said, dropping his voice to below the level of human hearing, "I'm trying to keep this from the rest of the staff. As far as they know, Eddy Moore is still a normal human. Until I have more answers, I would like to keep it that way."

"Good idea." said Mick, knowing that so soon after Emma Monaghan, it was a good idea to keep anything suspicious out of the public eye.

At this very moment, the door to the room burst open, and in walked a woman with black hair. For a long second, she stared at the two men, before her gray eyes narrowed. "I'm looking for Guillermo Gasol. I was told that he was the one working on Eddy Moore."

"Yes, ma'am." said Guillermo, "I'm the one that worked on him."

"I see." she said, in a tight voice. She then turned a piercing gaze on Mick, looking him up and down as though sizing him up. "And who may I ask are you?"

"My name is Mick St. John." said Mick, as he met her gaze levelly, and kept his tone carefully neutral.

"You didn't answer my question, Mr. St. John." said the woman, and this time there was the barest hint of anger in her voice. "Telling me your name does not tell me who you are, or what business you have being in this room."

Mick had to admit that he was somewhat taken aback. Normally, vampires could command instant respect from someone simply by walking into a room. That wasn't always the case, of course, but most people seemed to instinctively avoid any sort of hostility to them. But this woman, whoever she was, did not seem in the least intimidated by being in a room with two vampires. Indeed, she seemed to think that she was the one in charge and that they were both transgressing some sort of unwritten rule.

"I'm a private investigator, ma'am." he said, "Do you mind me asking who you are and what business you have here."

"My name is Audrey Starre, but you can call me Agent Starre." She said, as she produced her badge. "Mr. St. John, you may be a private investigator, but I fail to see how that gives you the right to be in the same room with a homicide victim." Her laser attention whipped back to Guillermo. "Mr. Gasol, would you mind telling me why you let an unauthorized civilian look at this body before I even got here?"

"Please, Agent Starre, let me explain-"

"You can't explain anything. I had hoped that, given the gravity of this case, the morgue would have assigned a responsible ME to get the job done. You obviously don't understand what is at stake, Mr. Gasol, or you wouldn't have shown such disrespect to the memory of this young man."

Guillermo was completely flabbergasted. The morgue had been his domain for years; he knew more about pathology than most practicing doctors. He provided a valuable service to the vampires of LA, and was thus used to being treated with respect. Being challenged so directly was something he was not prepared for .

Mick, however, stepped in to try and help his friend. "Whoa, whoa, hold on there, Agent Starre, you're not seeing everything straight. Guillermo is a friend of mine and I can personally vouch for him when I say that he would never do anything to dishonor the body of any person he was working on."

"Oh, really?" questioned Starre, sarcastically, "Forgive me, Mr. St. John, but you are hardly in a position to vouch for anything. I don't know if you noticed, but that boy was murdered, cut off in the prime of life as though he were nothing more than an animal. He was targeted, and I need to find the people who targeted him before they kill again. If you honestly think that I'm going to let my best chance for a lead be destroyed because of the bumbling of one ME or the self-righteous posturing of a private eye like you whose hardest day on the job is following a rich man's wife around to get photos of her sleeping with another man, than you have picked the wrong woman to fight with."

"Agent Starre-"

"No, don't say another word, Mr. St. John, every word that you say is only ruining your case." She looked over at Guillermo, "I'm not going to say anything to your superiors at this time, Mr. Gasol. I don't want this getting around, because the last thing that I need is an internal investigation. But I don't want either of you near this body again."

Both Mick and Guillermo exchanged alarmed expressions. It was unspoken between them, but they both knew just how disastrous letting someone else examine the body could be. That other person might not understand the necessity of discretion.

However, any attempts they could have made to reason with Audrey Starre were doomed to failure. She was already glaring at them, and her next words were, "Leave now, before I call security to drag you out of here."

Further argument would have been useless, and they didn't want to cause anymore of a scene than they already had. Guillermo and Mick hurriedly went out the door, and once in the hallway, they looked at each other. "I told you that coming down here probably wasn't the est idea." said Mick, at last.

"Yeah, I know. Boy, I've heard some horror stories about FBI agents being protective of their crime scenes, but even that seemed a little extreme."

"Perhaps," said Mick, thoughtfully. "Maybe this was just personal for her. Come on, we should probably leave before she catches us and assumes we're snooping."

The two of them walked down the hall to Guillermo's office. Once they got there, and Guillermo had shut the door, he asked Mick, "So, what do you want to do about this? I don't think that Agent Starre is going to let me anywhere near the body while she's present. At the same time, I don't think that I should keep this from Josef."

"I know, he always wants to know about anything unusual going on in his town. Go back over your information and see what you can find. While you're at it, see if you can get another peek at that body once that agent is finished with it."

Guillermo's nodded. "I don't normally like looking at a body without permission, but I'll see what I can do on the night shift this evening."

"Okay. Send me the information that you have and I'll try to get it over to Josef as soon as I can. Thanks for calling me, Guillermo."

Mick left the office, and made his way back to his car. As he got in and began the drive back to his apartment, he found himself beginning to think about Audrey Starre. There had been something different about her, something that he had never encountered before. The way she had moved had been more graceful and confidant than a normal human's should have been. Her heartbeat had been faster, without being at all related to her being angry. Her smell had even been different, in a way that he wouldn't have been able to explain.

She would have been able to fool a lot of people, but Mick couldn't help but suspect that she was hiding something. After he got some rest and evening had come, he was going to be telling Josef a whole lot more than just the fact of this mysterious murder.

* * *

**So, what do you think? I know that Audrey might strike people as being a little bi-polar. I mean, she is all cool and pretty pleasant when we first see her, but she seems to immediately jump down Mick's throat the first time that she meets him. Please rest assured that she does have a very good reason for this (beyond being perhaps justisfably annoyed that Mick technically shouldn't be looking at bodies in the morgue). As we will see, Audrey has secrets of her own and plays by her own set of rules. **

**Also, I am including Benjamin Talbot in this story, as I thought that he was underutilized in the main series. That being the case, I should clarify two things: first of all, simply because when I was putting this story together, I decided that I was going to excise the list which Talbot receives at the end of Sonata. I just couldn't think of how to make it work. Second of all, Talbot is going to be a good guy in this story, though he might not always be on the same side as our heroes. **

**Anyway, I can't wait to hear what you think of these frst few chpters. I don't know how regularly I will be able to update, but if people like this story, I will do my best to be timely in my updates. In the meantime, please read and review. **


	3. Meeting

**Wow! I was so glad to get sch a positive response back from my first posting. Hopefully, I can continue it in this next installment. Enjoy!**

Chapter III: Meeting

Later that afternoon, Josef came back to his office. He had not rested well, at all. In the sub zero cold of his freezer, he had lain wide awake for hours wrestling with the potential problem that Audrey Starre's presence represented for him. He knew from past experience over the last few decades that she represented danger. She herself was not necessarily the danger, but it was what she hunted that could be the threat.

Their meeting had been set for 7:00, right at the cusp between the dying of one day and the birth of another night. She arrived promptly, yet another thing that he remembered of her. She was also dressed in the comfortable, but business-like clothes that her profession demanded: a dark green shirt with a brown sweater vest over it, dark blue pants and black flats that allowed her to move easily and quickly.

As she came into his office, Josef rose from behind his desk and came over to meet her. "Audrey Starre, still as beautiful as the first day I saw you."

Audrey smiled at him, as the two shook hands "Josef Koston, still as smoothly cliche as I remember you."

"You know me, Starre. I make it a point of never messing with perfection."

To the untrained eye, this greeting was merely two acquaintances who had not seen each other in a very long time. But, there was an underlying tension in their behavior towards each other as well. They had history, these two; the feelings that they had for each other were not always as clear as they would have liked.

Josef turned to his secretary, who had shown in Audrey and said, "Thank you, Maureen. Agent Starre and I might be awhile. Please hold all of my calls and don't let anyone in until we're finished."

Maureen nodded and left them alone. "Can I interest you in anything to drink?" said Josef, as he offered her one of the seats opposite his desk. "I have scotch, bourbon, vodka. I would have ordered in some h'orderves, but you gave me such short notice."

"And we would have one of those embarrassing meetings where I would eat and you would sit there staring at me? Probably best to avoid that. As for the drink, I just got off duty, so it should be all right. Surprise me with something strong. I could use it after today."

"Hmm, yes, so I heard." said Josef, as he poured her a drink, and handed it to her. "The death of that young man was truly tragic. So much potential lost so early."

"That's what I like about you, Koston. You always get right to the point."

Josef poured a drink for himself and sat down opposite her. "Well, you can't really blame me. The story is all over the news: Eddy Moore, murdered just outside of LA. Beyond that, no one has the exact story. I assume that you do. I want to know that story, Starre. Wherever you turn up in this country, there is always more to the situation than meets the human eye."

"I think that you already know what's going on without me having to tell, Koston." said Audrey, after a pause. "There are hunters in your city."

Josef exhaled and rubbed his face with his hands. "Lovely, just the type of news that can ruin a perfectly good night."

"If it's any consolation, I don't believe that they are after vampires. These hunters, from all that I've ever seen, only ever target my kind."

"Oh, yes. That does make me feel so much better." He noticed that Audrey's expression held more than a hint of disapproval. "Sorry. I don't mean to sound disrespectful. Hunters are just as much of a problem for you weres as they are for us vampires. In that case, we're all in the same boat."

Audrey shook his head. "I know. I've encountered this group before. I've been tracking them for the better part of a year, and I feel that I am very close to shutting them down."

"Shutting them down? I assume that means actually _putting_ them down, all of them?"

Audrey smirked at him. "That is one more thing that my kind has in common with yours', Koston. We don't believe in leaving loose ends of any type."

Josef couldn't help but return the smirk. He had always liked her vicious streak. It reminded him all to well of himself. "What can you tell me about these hunters. What makes you so sure that they won't branch out and start focusing on vampires for a change of pace?"

"They are trophy hunters. They've only been active in cities where the weres are active. They don't consider Weres to be real people, merely animals, the most dangerous and exciting prey of all."

"That sounds all to familiar." said Josef, "As for the real nature of Eddy Moore, I assume that you know more about him than the press is even aware of."

Audrey nodded. "Eddy Moore comes from a family of Aquatics, one of the rarest breeds that is not easy for hunters to find. Therefore, they are the most highly sought after. I have suspicions that they have might have been trailing Eddy Moore for weeks, maybe months. They were waiting for the right chance to strike."

"What about the kid, Hank? Why isn't he dead?"

Audrey shook her head. "He's not gone through the change yet. He was useless to the hunters, but they didn't have enough time to properly kill him and dispose of the body. Hank's safety is another reason why I'm here. I'm going to be protecting him."

Josef sat back in his chair, trying to process all of this. "I got to admit, Starre, there is still a lot about this that I am wary of. I saw that DA Ben Talbot is spearheading this case along with you."

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Let's just say that there is something about Talbot that I don't like. I don't trust the guy."

"Of course you don't, Koston. He's a politician."

"He's not just a politician, he's a human politician who asks to many questions. He's been here in LA for less than two months, and he's already been involved with at least two cases that involve vampires. I sometimes get the feeling that he knows more than he is letting on."

"If that's the case, I am somewhat surprised that he hasn't met with an unfortunate accident in the La Bearia Tar Pits."

"Believe me, the idea has crossed my mind, but the situation is... delicate. It's a long story."

"Fair enough, Koston. But don't worry. I can handle Talbot. I have been on cases that were more difficult than this when it came to keeping everything a secret. I am just as aware as you are on the importance of that."

"So, how long do you think you'll be here?"

"Wanting to get rid of me so soon, Koston? You're betraying the reputation you have for stellar hospitality." At Josef's less than amused expression, she conceded by saying, "I don't know, these investigations can vary in their length. A week, maybe two. But I will stay as long as I feel I need to."

"Make no mistake, Starre, I'll be keeping an eye on you." said Josef, after a pause, "You know the rules which I enforce, and I don't take kindly to them being broken."

Being a four hundred year old vampire, Josef had a way of intimidating other people simply by changing the tone of his voice or a subtle shift in his posture. Instinctively, he was now bringing all of that to bear on Audrey. He was being forced to make concessions to his power, and he didn't like doing that, for anyone.

Strangely, though, Audrey appeared entirely unaffected. Indeed, she merely laughed and got to her feet. "Oh, Koston, I have missed you, too."

As she left the office, Josef sat back down and muttered, "Damn impossible woman."

* * *

As Audrey was leaving Koston Industries, she didn't notice the Benz that pulled up right as she got into her car and drove off. But Mick saw her. Had he not no already known who she was, he would have still been surprised to see an FBI agent walking out of Koston Industries. He knew that Josef would have been jumpy about any sort of government investigation. He sometimes doubted if an FBI agent would have been able to get within ten miles of Josef, let alone in the same building as him.

However, he also happened to know that this particular FBI agent had been assigned to what was quickly becoming a major murder case. He knew that if she just happened to be meeting Josef on the same day, it couldn't be a coincidence.

He took the elevator up to Josef's office, and saw Josef's receptionist, a human woman by the name of Maureen. "Evening, Maureen. Is Josef in? I need to speak with him."

"He should be free in a few minutes." said Maureen, "He's on the phone with Shanghai, apparently the stock market there took a nose dive and he's trying to figure out how bad the damage will be to his holdings."

Mick nodded, and then asked, casually. "I saw a woman coming out of here just as I got to the door. She looked sort of familiar. About your height, black hair."

"Oh, yeah, Audrey Starre, I think Mr. Koston said her name was. She must have been important, because Mr. Koston told me that I shouldn't let anything disturb him while he was seeing her."

"Any idea who she was?"

Maureen shook her head. "No idea. And I didn't think to ask. If there's one thing that I've learned about working with Mr. Koston, it's that I shouldn't ask to many questions."

Mick knew that he wouldn't be getting anything else out of Maureen, as she was well and truly in the dark. However, it served to confirm his initial suspicions. It appeared that he might need to be talking with Josef about more than just the murder of Eddy Moore.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Maureen said, "Mr. Koston just finished with his call, Mick. You can go in if you like."

"Thank you, Maureen." Mick said to her, smiling as he went into the office. Josef was sitting at his desk, working on his laptop. "Hi there, Josef. I hear that things aren't going to well in Shanghai."

"That, my friend, is an understatement." said Josef, without looking up. "At least three major corporations have suffered from unexpected coups in their upper management, and I'm left picking up the pieces here at home."

"Well, just use the great people skills that I've heard you use so many times. Last time you talked to someone from Shanghai, you said that you were going to personally go there and cut his heart out."

"Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind. But you didn't come here to listen to my woes. What's new with you?"

"I actually came by because of a case that Beth is working on."

"Oh, she's working late, huh? This is what happens when your human girlfriend works odd hours, Mick. You wind up missing her and get all depressed, and come by here because you can't stand to be lonely."

Mick rolled his eyes and chose to ignore that. He was just about to launch into what he knew of the Eddy Moore case, when he suddenly paused. The smell which he had first sensed when he had met Audrey Starre was lingering in Josef's office. It was so subtle that it had taken even his heightened senses a few moments to pick up on it. But there was no mistaking it.

"Mick, you okay?" Josef asked, bringing his thoughts back to the present. "You look like all the people in the movies who just remembered something crucial to the plot."

"No, no, that's not it. It's just... I saw someone come out of your building just as I pulled up."

"Wow, Mick. I am quite impressed with your observational skills. You saw someone come out of my building? I would have thought you would see more though, considering that this place never sleeps."

"That's not what I meant, Josef. Your secretary confirmed it. Why was Audrey Starre, FB agent, visiting you personally?"

At this, Josef's usual snarky attitude abruptly vanished. His expression became guarded. His body seemed to tense up ever so slightly. "How did you know that Audrey Starre was an FBI agent? In fact, how did you even know who she was?"

"Well, maybe the fact that I ran into her at the morgue and she chewed me out for looking at the body of a murder victim made an impression on me."

"You were at the morgue investigating a body in a homicide? Mick, I thought that you were trying to cut back on that, at least until Talbot gets' off your case."

"Don't try and avoid the question, Josef. I know how paranoid you are when it comes to the US government. Why the sudden change?"

Josef shifted, obviously trying to hunt for an answer, but he was also not giving anything away. "Agent Starre is a colleague, Mick. I may not like government interference, but I do like to know what is going on inside of it. If the humans in power should ever learn about us, than I want to know about it ahead of anyone else."

"And is this Audrey a vampire?"

"If you have to ask, Mick, I think that you already know that the answer is no."

"But why would you-"

"You said that you were looking at a body." said Josef, abruptly cutting him off. "What's so unusual about it that you felt a need to come to me?"

Mick looked at Josef for a second, more than a little suspicious. True enough that Josef normally did keep tight-lipped about his secrets, even to Mick. Normally, Mick was all right with that, but this time. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was a lot more that Josef was hiding from him. Nonetheless, he knew that he had to tell Josef what Guillermo had found concerning Eddy.

"The kid's name was Eddy Moore." he said, "He was the victim of a horrific murder, one of the worst that I've ever seen."

"And you've seen quite a lot." remarked Josef.

"I know. But it wasn't just the murder itself, it was the way it was done. Josef, part of Eddy's lung and throat tissue had been removed. Guillermo told me that the killers were incredibly precise, like they knew exactly where and how to cut. Not only that, the anatomy of the victim was... strange to say the least."

"Really? In what way?"

"Guillermo found large traces of salt water in the lungs. The amount should have been enough to drown him, even out of the water. The pictures he gave me also make it pretty clear that there were anomalies all over the place."

Josef's expression was serious and thoughtful. Mick could see that he didn't really like what he was being told, though what part of it he couldn't figure out. "What do you mean by anomalies, exactly?"

"Without going into to much detail, Eddy's lung capacity was much stronger and larger than a normal human's should have been. His skin was also strange, though it took Guillermo awhile to understand it. It's tougher than human skin should be, but streamlined, as though he were made to go through the water. There's more, Josef, but you would have to see it for yourself."

Josef had listened to this whole thing with increasing tension. He was managing to hide it fairly well, but Mick knew Josef well enough to know that this news put him extremely on edge. "Did Guillermo tell anyone?"

"No, he was trying to keep it under wraps as much as he could. But, I somehow get the feeling that our FBI friend Audrey Starre won't make that to easy for him right now."

"She's not a friend."

"Well, there had to be a good reason why she just happened to be in your office on the very day that she comes into town investigating this particular murder. Even if I weren't a Private Investigator, Josef, that would still strike me as a pretty big coincidence."

Josef was silent for a long moment, but his next words completely shocked Mick. "You know, Mick, I think that it would be a good idea if you dropped this."

"What did you say?" said Mick, who could hardly believe what he had just heard.

Josef had always made it a point to know what was going on in his city. He didn't like unanswered questions. Mick was the one he relied on to get that information for him. Mick had never known Josef to abandon something of this nature. The fact that he should do so now only confirmed in Mick's mind that Josef knew a great deal more than he was letting on.

"Mick, it's to close to the incident with Emma Monahgan one that almost cost every vampire in Los Angeles their secrecy. I can't have you putting that secrecy in jeopardy again, just because you happen to be curious."

"Josef, this is a completely different case, all right? There's no hint that vampires are even involved in this murder."

"That isn't the point. You've already riled an FBI agent; what do you think will happen if you persist in this? Both Starre and Talbot will begin to wonder why this is so important to you."

"No, no, there's more to it than that." Said Mick, after a moment. "What are you not telling me here, Josef?"

Josef finally lost patience. His eyes flashed silver, and he surged to his feet. His next words were growled out in a cold and menacing tone. "Mick, I am telling you to leave it."

Mick immediately felt a sudden urge to back away from Josef, as the waves of power coming off of his friend were overwhelming in their intensity. It was rare when Josef used the authority which his age and position had granted him of being the most dominate vampire in the entire city of Los Angeles. At least, it was rare for Mick to feel it, as he could count on one hand the number of times that Josef had used it on him.

And yet Mick had his own strength to fall back. Though only a youngster by vampire standards, his own natural power could be formidable. So, though he might have been giving Josef his space, he was also not surrendering. Because for all that he tried to keep himself as close to human as possible, his own inner vampire didn't like being given orders, even when they came from his best friend.

For a long, tense moment, the air between the two vampires fairly hummed and crackled with energy. Finally, Mick decided that he was just wasting his time. He threw up his hands in surrender and stalked off.

_Mick's POV_

_I admit that I was angry at Josef for not telling me more. I could accept that Josef had his secrets, but I was frustrated this time. I knew that there was something important that he wasn't telling me. After all that we had been through in the last few months together, I would have thought that he would have trusted me more._

When Mick finally got back to the apartment, he feeling slightly calmer, but when he walked into the living room, and Beth saw him, even she could see that there was something wrong. "Mick, what's the matter? How did things go with Josef?"

"Not great." said Mick, who had told her that he was going to see Josef earlier in the evening. He went over and sat down beside her on he couch. "He wasn't exactly forthcoming with information."

"Well, this is Josef that we're talking about."

"I know, but this was completely unlike him. Beth, he didn't want to know anything about the body of Eddy Moore, even I told him that Guillermo had found so many anomalies in the body. In fact, he even ordered me to leave it be."

Beth frowned when she heard this. "Okay, well, that is a little strange."

"Yeah, I know. In all the years I've known him, Josef has never acted this way when faced with what could be a potential threat." He sighed and shook his head. He then noticed the photos and files that were spread across the coffee table. "Hey, what are these? They don't look like anything from the crime scene."

"Oh, they're not. These are some of Audrey's files from past cases she's been working on. I've been trying to see what sort of connections I can draw between them."

Mick sat up when he heard this. "Audrey? Audrey Starre? The FBI agent in charge of this case?"

Beth looked at him, surprised. "Yes, how did you know?"

Mick explained to Beth the encounter that he had had with the dark-haired agent earlier that morning. He also said that she had visited Josef right before he got there, and that Josef had been as reticent about her as he had been about everything else that evening.

"That is more than a little suspicious." said Beth, "Maybe I should ask Audrey about it tomorrow."

"No, I don't think that you should tell her about me, not yet. You need to stay on this case, learn as much as you can. Josef said I couldn't get involved directly, but you don't have to worry about those sorts of restrictions. Leave Josef to me, I'll keep working on him."

* * *

**I know, I seem to be starting this story by setting everyone at odds with each other, including our favorite vampire duo. Again, I implore your patience. There is a reason why Josef is keeping his secrets from Mick, and having to keep them so adamantly as well. As for Audrey herself, what her secret is was actually hinted at a few times in this chapter. I will be interested to see if anyone spotted what her species is called. As a matter of fact, we will be delving into that more in depth, as we get our first real chapter from her point of view. **

**On a side note, you might have noticed over the last few chapters, that I have been including some text in italics. These are meant to be voice-overs of the kind that Mick used so much in the show. I am trying to recreate them to some degree on the written page, as I always kind of though they were nice little touches. I'm not planning on using them excessively, and I might try to expand them to other characters. However, I would like your thoughts on them. Are they to distracting? Do they flow well with the story or should I just abandon them altogether? Let me know. **

**That's all for now. Thanks for reading and please feel free to leave a review. **


	4. Other Self

**Thanks so much for your patience in-between updates. I have a lot going on in my life right now, plus working on a few other stories for this site, so my updates are not as frequent as I would like. Still, I hope that this one is worth the wait, as we finally find out just what Audrey is. I don't know if some of you might have already seen this coming, but hopefully it will still be a surprise. Enjoy!**

Other Self:

_Audrey's POV: _

_For many people, talking about the voices which they hear in their heads is a joke, most often used to blame the idiotic things they do on a convenient lapse of judgment. In my own case, it's literal. I have lived with another voice in my head for over a century, a voice that reacts to all of my choices and decisions. More often that not, it is a voice that is in complete agreement with almost everything I do, but when it wishes to object, it can do so with anger. _

_If you are going to live as a were, you need to find a balance between the creature and the human, between instinct and rational thought. The real tricky part, though, comes when you have to decide which voice is the best to follow. _

It had been a long few days for Audrey. She had been going for almost seventeen hours, trying to get to LA as soon as she had gotten word of the murder of Eddy Moore. Upon arrival, she had hit the ground running, and hadn't stopped for the entire day. She may have had more endurance than a regular human, but she still needed sleep. By the time she had dragged herself to her hotel room, she had been running on the last dregs of her energy.

However, she could also get by with less sleep than normal humans. And her other was not willing to let her waste anymore time than was necessary.

UP! UP! TIME FOR SLEEP IS PAST! The voice which was her constant companion kept repeating, until she finally opened her eyes and sat up. The sun was streaming through her hotel room at the Marriott San Marino. She had been asleep for a little over seven hours. Though she felt her energy back to peak levels, she still didn't necessarily enjoy getting up this early.

"Coffee, I need coffee." she muttered her breath, as she pushed the covers aside and got to her feet.

Before she could even plug in the coffee pot in her room, though, her cell phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she repressed a groan, but answered it nonetheless. "Hello, Noah. I have to say that I am rather sorry you didn't try calling sooner."

Noah Davidson, the Alpha of Chicago, sounded none to amused. "Would you mind telling me why you immediately flew off to Los Angeles without clearing it with me first? Do you happen to have any idea as to what the proper protocol is for this situation? You should have gone through the proper channels first."

"I did that, I would have lost any chance of a lead I could have gotten on these hunters. I don't think so. You know how I work, Noah. This shouldn't come as a surprise to you."

"Audrey, you are forgetting that LA isn't like here in Chicago. It's not a mixed community. Weres and vampires don't mix there like they do here."

Audrey rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, because things are so peaceful in Chicago right now. Tell me, how many people died during that last brawl on both sides? Chicago is a powder keg waiting to blow and you know it."

She heard a brief growl come over the phone, a sign that Noah's ursine were was beginning to break through. "You keep your opinions on that to yourself, Audrey. I'm doing the best I can with what I have, and the fact that the Elder has suddenly died under mysterious circumstances isn't making things any easier. If the right vampire isn't elected in his place, than we will have an even worse situation here than I anticipated."

"Spare me the politics right now, Noah. I don't have time for it. I have my own problems. Are you going to order me home or let me do my job?"

She heard Noah sigh in frustration. "I just want to make sure that you don't cause any unnecessary conflict. Josef Koston is as prickly as a vampire can get. I imagine that he doesn't like having a federal investigation going on in his city."

"Leave Koston to me, I can handle him. That is yet another reason why I am still the best person for this case, not to mention all the experience that I have in dealing with cases of this nature. Do you want these hunters stopped, Noah?"

There was a pause on the other end, before Noah finally said. "Yes, I do, Audrey. I can't very well pull you out now without questions being raised. Just be careful and don't underestimate Josef Koston. Try to be quick about it."

He abruptly hung up. "Thanks for all the encouragement, Noah." Audrey muttered as she slammed down her phone, and went for the coffee pot. Her entanglements with Noah were never her favorite part of the day, and that had been one of their more civil encounters.

STUPID ALPHA! Her were harrumphed in her mind. HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND. WE COULD DO BETTER IF WE HAD THE CHANCE.

_No, and we never will. So be quiet._ Audrey had more important things to worry about than irate Alphas. Back in Chicago, his word carried weight. There, she would have to obey him whether she liked it or not. But here in LA, his orders could only be taken under advisement. As such, she felt free to do exactly as she wanted. She would bring these killers to justice, and she was not going to let anything, be it a centuries old vampire Elder or an Alpha who was quietly growing weaker every day, stand in her way.

* * *

When Audrey arrived at the DA's office, she was surprised to find Beth already there, pouring over some of the case files that she had handed over to her yesterday. "Good morning, Beth." said Audrey, as she sat down beside her, "How long have you been here? It's still early by many peoples' standards."

"I just wanted to get a little bit of a head start on this." said Beth, "I got here about an hour ago."

"Well, I have to say that I admire your dedication. Did you get anywhere that I haven't?"

"Not yet, but your notes are pretty detailed. You've obviously had a lot of experience dealing with these types of cases."

"Unfortunately, I have." said Audrey, a bit of unintentional bitterness creeping into her tone.

Beth shot her a glance, obviously having heard the change of the tone in her voice. She then looked down at the notes. "You've observed that a lot of these cults use a family member or a close friend to locate their victims. Is that true?"

"Yes, though it varies as to how much that connection is actually culpable in their actions. Sometimes, they are just the unwitting sources of information. Other times, they are recruited into the cause of their cult. The rite of passage into many of these cults means that they are the ones who deliver the killing blow. "

Beth was appalled. "And people actually do that?"

"Who knows why people do anything?" said Audrey, "But these cult leaders, they can be very persuasive. I know that from personal experience."

"I noticed." Audrey looked over at her curiously, and Beth blushed, almost embarrassed by what she had said. "I did a little research on you, and I... found out about your family. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pry. I just wanted to know a little bit about you. This whole thing just seemed so personal for you, and when Ben mentioned that you always took cases like this..."

"Beth, don't worry. I have to confess that I looked up Ben's file on you when I was coming here from Chicago. I wouldn't have handed my files off to just anyone."

Beth smiled a little, relieved that Audrey wasn't angry with her. "I guess that makes us even then. If you had rather not talk about it, I understand."

"No, I suppose that you should know if you're going to be working with me. It's true, cults of this nature have cost me a lot. As a matter of fact, a cult killed my father, my sister, even my brother. I lost all the family that I had ever known, and the person responsible for it was someone... someone that I was very close to, that I trusted with everything and he betrayed that trust."

"Who was it?"

"That is one part of the story that I would rather not tell you just yet. It's painful for me to even remember right now."

"I'm so sorry." said Beth, after a heavy pause. "I can't imagine what that most have been like for you. Why do these cults target other people? What motivates them?"

"With every cult of this nature it is different. Most cults are only seeking to increase their numbers, brain washing other people into their systems of belief. Many of them stop short of cold-blooded murder. These cults are different. As far as I can tell, they believe that there are certain people in this world who are abominations and must be purged from the earth. For some of them, they think it is a holy duty. For others, hunting down these so-called abominations and killing them is sport of the very highest challenge and honor."

"And as far as I can tell from your notes, trying to figure out what the common link might be for those victims is always difficult."

"Yes, that can make it difficult. But I never have never given up. I want to bring the bastards who commit crimes like this to justice, so that no one else will have to go through what I went through."

Beth was now looking at Audrey with increased admiration. Audrey's senses told her that something about her story had reminded Beth of something in her own life. "It might not seem like it," she said, after a moment, "But I want you to know that I understand a little bit of how it feels to have someone in your life that others might consider different. I also know how it feels to be willing to do whatever it takes to defend those people.

This statement seemed to come completely out of the blue, and coming from anyone else, Audrey would have considered the words to be a show of empty sympathy, but with Beth, it actually meant something.

SHE KNOWS, SHE SPEAKS THE TRUTH. Said her other self, YOU SMELL IT? SHE IS WITH A MOONWALKER. SHE KNOWS HOW TO KEEP SECRETS.

_So, she does_. Audrey thought back. "

Thank you." she said, aloud to Beth, with a smile. "However, it is ancient history. No reason to dwell on it today."

"Right, of course." said Beth, who seemed to understand that Audrey would prefer not to talk about it anymore.

At this moment, Ben entered the office, a grim expression on his face. He came right over to Beth and Audrey and said, "The parents just got into town."

Both Audrey and Beth looked at each other. They didn't need to be told anymore. "Where are they?" Audrey asked.

"They're at the hospital. They've already identified the body, and now they're going to see Hank. They've asked to see the people in charge of the investigation, but they asked that they speak privately with you first of all, Audrey."

"Yes, of course." said Audrey, as she got to her feet. "This is the part of the job that I hate the most."

* * *

Upon arriving at he hospital, Audrey soon met Linda and James Moore. The husband and wife were devastated at the loss of their eldest son. Neither of them had slept since they had heard the news. Their eyes shows clear signs of crying and sleeplessness, especially on Linda's part. The only good news which they had was that Hank would survive. However, such were the extent of his injuries, that the doctors felt it best if he were kept unconscious for a few more days until he stabilized.

She ushered them off to a side room where they could speak in private. Sitting down opposite them, she said, "I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am, for everything."

"Thank you." said Linda, "Please, tell us the truth, Agent Starre, was my son really the target of hunters?"

Audrey had to take a few moments to answer, knowing how difficult the affirmation would be, even if both of them were expecting. "Yes, I'm afraid that he was. His body shows the classic signs of hunters who specialize in were kills. No doubt the Medical examiner gave you all the details; several key organs for an Aquatic species were missing, particularly in his lungs and throat."

James' anger was beginning to show, along with his sorry. "This was deliberate! My son was a target! They shot him down and cut him up , as though he were no better than an animal. They are the ones who are the savages, not us!"

"I perfectly agree with you, Mr. Moore. I intend to do everything in my power to make sure that the people who did this are brought to justice."

"I hope that you mean _ our_ type of justice, and not the ones which the humans espouse." said Linda, her own eyes burning.

Audrey could feel her other self growing restless. Her were was itching to get out. Her fingernails were beginning to grow sharper, flexing in and out of the sheathes along her skin. Her teeth were trying to grow sharper inside her mouth.

KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL! Her were was demanding. She wanted to start the hunt now, to find the people who had done this and rip them apart as they done with Eddy. LET US SEE HOW MUCH THEY ENJOY BEING PREY.

She was in complete agreement with her were, but she forced her down. If she started off on that now, she would only waste time and energy. She needed a viable target before she could start her own hunt. The time for that was still to come, but, she promised her were, it would come, and soon.

"I can assure you, I will put a stop to them. However, before I can do that, I do need to know more about you and your family."

The parents nodded. "Of course, whatever you need." said Linda.

"First of all, I need to know if both your children were going to go through the Change at some point. Eddy had already experienced it. What about Hank?"

"Yes, he'll grow through it in a few years." said James, "He was so excited to be able to share the sea with his brother. Eddy was going to show him everything. Even promised Hank that the two of them would try swimming to Hawaii if they could manage it."

Audrey smiled slightly at this, before she became serious once more. "So, you obviously are both the same species. Procreation wouldn't have been possible, otherwise."

"That's true." said Linda, "I'm afraid I was turned much later than James was. I was turned by a friend of mind in college, back in the 80's. I always expected to find a mate, but never one that I would be able to create a family with."

"I was turned in 1907." said James, "Meeting Linda opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me."

"We were so happy to have Eddy." said Linda, "You know how difficult it is for weres to conceive. The odds are always stacked against us. When we were blessed to have two, I could hardly believe it."

Audrey felt an even greater stab of remorse when she heard this. For many weres, conceiving children was simply accepted as something that most likely wouldn't happen. They needed to rely on turning others in order to ensure the survival of their species. But, when it did happen, such children were valued and cherished in the pack. When one of them was lost, it was an even greater tragedy than if a turned adult had been killed.

"So, you must still have some family alive, Linda. Do you know if any of them might have found out that you were no longer human?"

Linda and James looked at each, before shaking their heads. "No, that can't be." said Linda, "None of my family knows who we really are. We still keep in regular contact with them, of course, but part of the reason why we moved out to Monterrey is because it's so far away from where the rest of my family live."

"Even so, I want to know who they are." said Audrey.

"You don't actually think that one of them could have been behind this?" said Linda, skeptically.

"I hope not. But the hunters could have gotten their information from anywhere, and even the smallest thing could have tipped them off." She paused here, as there was still one more thing that she needed to tell these two, and she needed to make sure that she didn't put it in such a way that they would only start panicking further. "I also have to inform you that Hank might still be in danger. These hunters don't leave loose threads hanging. If they can get to Hank, they will kill him."

Linda and James seemed horrified at this suggestion. "But you will find them before they can get the opportunity, right?" said James.

"I promise you, both of you, that I will not let anything happen to Hank. I am going to find the people who did this and I will take care of them."

* * *

**So, there you have it: Audrey is a were. I would just like to emphasize that she is not a were-wolf, she is a were, meaning a person who can transform into a specific type of animal. You will notice that were-wolves aren't mentioned in Moonlight, but since there are vampires, why not shape shifters? And I didn't want to restrict myself to just were-wolves since that would have gotten boring pretty fast. Thus, I came up with the idea of different animal weres. **

**I admit that I wrestled with revealing Audrey's true nature this early in the story, but as I wanted to do some story stuff from her point of view, I realized that it would get way to complicated if I tried being vague about it. Now, you will notice that I didn't reveal what type of were she is, or all of what it means to be a were in this universe, but then, I have to keep some things a secret. **

**What do you think then? As the story goes on, we will delve deeper into were lore and the complex relationship that exists between the were beasts of this world and vampires. For now, though, thanks for reading and please leave a review. **

**Next chapter: a flashback from Audrey's past reveals the violent deaths of her sister and father, and the real fate of her brother. Also, Mick receives a visit from Josef, and though they do mend the friendship, it seems that there are still some questions that Josef is still reluctant to answer. **


	5. Apology

**Hi there, everyone. Here is the next chapter of Cat's Cradle. In my continuing quest to explore new ground with this story, I am trying my hand at including flashbacks into the chapters. That was one thing that I always kind of liked about the show, as it showed so much character without a lot of boring exposition. Also, as I am introducing not only a new character, but an entirely new species, I wanted to get all the information across without turning into an encyclopedia. **

**So, here is just a little taste of that. But, of course, I still need to get Mick and Josef back on speaking terms. Please, enjoy!**

Apology:

_Audrey's POV_

_I know all to well the anguish that hunters could cause to families. My own family was destroyed by hunters. _

_I grew up in Washington DC during the late 1800's. I had everything that a girl of that time could want. I had a father who was well off to provide for his family, who was kind and generous to everyone. My sister and I were always laughing and talking together about the type of men we would marry. My brother had always been set to take over my father's business. And yet, nothing can stay perfect forever. Indeed, sometimes, the most idyllic life can be shattered in a single moment, always in the most unexpected and painful of ways. _

**Washington DC, 1884**

Audrey had known that something was wrong from the moment she had entered the home of her family. She had been with her cousin, Jonathon Harewood. Jonathon had turned her only a few months before, and he had been teaching her to live with her new abilities.

It was those enhanced senses now that told her that something horrible had happened. She could smell blood, lots of it. The whole house was unnaturally quiet. None of her family knew of her transformation. They still believed that she was human and would have greeted her as such.

She called out their names repeatedly; father, Theresa, hoping against hope that there might yet be some answer. But there was none. She ran into the drawing room, only to be greeted with the sight of her father and sister's dead bodies, stiff and still, with blood streaming from multiple stab wounds.

Horror stole her voice, but not her tears. Stumbling over to the bodies, she collapsed beside them. She felt her were howling with grief and rage. DEAD! DEAD! THEY ARE DEAD! OUR FAULT, IT'S OUR FAULT! WE COULD HAVE STOPPED IT!

This cry of despair made her own grief seem to increase, and she clutched her head, trying to drive out the voice, the emotions that were so powerful it felt like they were tearing her skull in two. She was still so young in her turning; she was not used to the voice of her were or the enhanced senses and emotions which came with her new state of being.

However, this, all this paled in comparison with what her sense of smell soon began to tell her. Besides the blood and the smell of death which was permeating the air, there was another very familiar scent, once which seemed to tear her heart asunder again.

CAN'T YOU SMELL IT? Her were growled angrily. YOU ALREADY KNOW WHO DID THIS.

Audrey shook his head, trying to ignore the voice in her head, the voice that she almost wished she had never heard. _No, no, it's not true. It can't be!_

YOU KNOW THAT OUR SENSE OF SMELL IS TO GREAT. IT WAS HIM, YOUR BROTHER NICHOLAS!

_No, I refuse to believe it. _She responded, _How could he have found out?_

IT DOESN'T MATTER. HE NEEDS TO DIE!

Audrey did not even try to respond. Her family was dead. Her brother, though he still lived, might as well have been dead. The grief she might have been able to bear, but there was more that was making it unbearable. She had been betrayed by the one person she had always been closest to. She couldn't silence her overwhelming guilt, because she knew why her sister and father had been killed.

Jonathon had always said that the greatest enemy of a shape-shifter, were those within their own family. She should have been her brother's target, she should have been the one who was lying dead. It was all her fault.

_Audrey's POV_

_Of course, I was not stupid enough to tell anyone that my brother had been the murderer. But that night changed me forever, for it was when I learned just how dangerous it was to be a were in a world where we are not always the top predator, and where humans become the hunters._

* * *

Mick had started to do a little overt digging into Audrey's past. He was going over multiple files and reports that he had gleaned from various sources. He had even made use of Logan's expertise, though he had not informed the tech genius vamp of his suspicions. Mick had been hoping that by learning everything he could about Audrey, it might shed some light on what she was really hiding. However, instead of seamless answers, all he was getting was a patchwork of questions that seemed to have no logical pattern.

It was clear that Audrey was not necessarily who she said she was. She had done a very good job of covering her tracks, and there was no doubt that she was legitimately FBI. But, there were a few interesting things about her caseloads. Many of the cases that came her way were very selective. She dealt not only with the cult murders of the current Eddy Moore case, but also with serial killers and abductions that happened under unusual circumstances. From what Mick was able to glean, where no one else was able to find a pattern or a suspect in such circumstances, Audrey was always able to find something that everyone else seemed to have missed.

The strangest thing of all was that even when the cases did not state vampire right off, Mick could see tell tale signs that there had been some vampires traces involved in her investigations. If Audrey did happen to know, or at least suspect the existence of vampires, it would explain why she had gotten so touchy the other day.

But, if she did know about vampires, it struck Mick as odd that she had done nothing to expose the existence of his kind to her superiors. If she believed that vampires were mindless killers, why not try to use all of your resources to try and bring them down?

As for family, there was none to speak of. Her father and sister were both dead, murdered by a cult. It was easy to see where she had gotten her passion for solving such cases. Her brother was also dead, but he had been killed by some sort of wild animal.

However, all of this information seemed to be null and void when Logan had managed to figure out that she was not nearly as young as she appeared to be. He had run Audrey's face through recognition software, and some of those photos had dated from the early 1900's. There could be no doubt that it was Audrey, but how she had ended up in photos from that time period, hadn't aged, and wasn't a vampire were questions that neither Logan nor Mick had the answers to.

Mick was left to try and process all of this data in the best way that he could. Unfortunately, even after working on it for a few hours, he still was no closer to a definitive answer. In a way, it was almost a relief when he heard a knock at the door. Perhaps a small break would shed some light on it when he returned.

However, when he saw that it was Josef on the security camera, he felt more than a little wary. He opened the door, and said, "You know, I wasn't expecting to see you tonight."

"I know." said Josef, "I honestly didn't expect to be here myself, but the car just sort of steered itself over here. Can we talk?"

"I thought that you made yourself very plain last night that we have very little to talk about."

"Mick, please. I'm trying to apologize here, something that I only do on rare occasions." Seeing that Mick still looked unconvinced, Josef sighed and said, "Look, you have any of that vegan blood around. I could use a drink."

If Josef was willing to try his so-called "non-fat, soy, vegan blood" than he must have really been serious about trying to make amends. Mick led Josef through to the kitchen and poured them each a glass of blood. "So, are you going to tell me what is actually going on here?"

Josef shifted uncomfortably. "Mick, I can't." Mick sighed impatiently. "Mick, please, listen to me. You honestly think that I enjoy keeping secrets from you?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do." said Mick.

"Okay, most of the time, I admit I get a kick out of it. This time... it's even more complicated than usual."

Mick could tell that Josef was being serious, something that wasn't always the case when it came to his best friend. He knew that Josef could be devious and downright manipulative at times. He was a vampire who believed very much in the philosophy that the ends did justify the means. However, he also had his own weird sense of morality. He took his duties as Elder very seriously, and he would do anything to make sure that the vampires of his city remained safe. Sometimes, that required him keeping secrets.

"Josef, you know that I respect your judgment. All you need to do is tell me if there is a viable threat."

Josef shook his head. "There is no direct threat, not to vampires, at least. Honestly, Mick, even though you're really gung ho for helping out the weak and oppressed, I'm afraid that there wouldn't be much you could to in this situation."

Mick raised his eyebrows. He wasn't one to boast about his own abilities, but both he and Josef knew his skills as a fighter and a private investigator. "Would you mind at least telling me why that is, Josef?"

"Mick, please, trust me on this. I can't tell you everything. The only thing that I can tell you is that if you get involved with this, you'll be dealing with forces that you have not had any experience with. You could find yourself in a lot of trouble."

"Thank you, Josef. I had no idea that you were so concerned about my personal safety."

"What can I say, Mick, life would be boring without you. Plus, I would have the task of comforting Beth, and I hate being around crying women all day."

"So, if you can't tell me anything, than what exactly are you apologizing for from yesterday?"

"Let's just say I had a few hours to cool down last night, and it struck me that maybe I was a bit to hard on you. I should have present myself better. I just don't want you getting involved with something that you couldn't make any difference on, and could potentially put you in harm's way."

"And are you still telling me to keep away from this?"

Josef looked at him intently for a long time. "I would prefer that you didn't, Mick. If Beth is involved, though, I highly doubt that you'll be able to avoid it. Even then, you still might not find what you're looking for."

Mick would have liked very much to dismiss this as yet another attempt of Josef to keep him in the dark, but one look at the expression on Josef's face was enough to convince him that he was deadly serious about this. "You honestly think that I could come up empty-handed in this situation?"

"I'm saying that sometimes, people are very good at keeping secrets, Mick. And maybe, sometimes, it's best for those secrets to stay hidden. You don't go telling everyone that you're a vampire, do you?"

"I dd tell Beth."

"Technically, she found out herself after she waltzed in on you vamped out and drinking blood. Even then, you didn't let her in on all of the details until you trusted her. All I'm saying is that, if Audrey Starre were keeping any secrets, she might deserve the same respect."

"I'll think about it." Mick said, after a moment, "However, there is one question that I would like to ask. You and Agent Starre obviously have a lot of history together, and you seem awfully eager to protect her. What exactly is the nature of your relationship?"

"What, you're the police now?" said Josef, with a smirk, "You want the straight answer, Mick. Audrey is one of the few women who seems immune to my charms. Believe me, I have tried in the past. But, honestly it could never work. There are a few... cultural differences."

"Ah hah." said Mick, doubtfully.

"But I do respect her, Mick, as should you. She's great at what she does. Almost as good as you and Beth. Let's just say, that I feel obliged to make sure that her time here goes as smoothly as possible. My reasons are personal, as well as political."

"I'll keep that in mind." said Mick, as Josef got to his feet, his glass of "vegan" blood empty despite his professed distaste for it.

"So, are we good, then?" Josef asked.

"Yeah, I think so." said Mick, who recognized that Josef was putting a great deal of his ego on the line by admitting that he had been in the wrong. The least he could do was accept it gracefully. "I don't know what it is, but I can't seem to stay mad at you for long no matter how much I would like to."

"Good, I'm glad to hear. Especially seeing as I am organizing a poker game next week and I count on you to be there."

Mick rolled his eyes, but found himself grinning slightly. "Good night, Josef."

"Good night, Mick." answered Josef, as he opened the door to the apartment and closed it behind him.

* * *

**Well, what did you think? The flash-back might have been a little bit rough around the edges, but I am still trying to figure out how to make everything that I want to in this story. If there is anything that you happen to become confused by in the story, please let me know. In the meantime, thanks for reading and please drop a review. **

**Next chapter: Audrey and Beth continue with the investigation, revealing more than a few interesting and unexpected connections. **


	6. Sire

**I am so sorry for the long wait in-between updates. I have been so busy with real life, that I haven't really had a chance to sit down and write. I know that seems like a weak excuse, but I am sure that some of you understand. Hopefully, going forward, I can get the updates at leas a bit more regularly. **

**Anyway, I am hoping that this chapter makes up for it. For those of you who are familiar with my Immortal Horizon universe, there might be a character in here that you will recognize. I hope that you enjoy his cameo, and the rest of the chapter, of course. **

Sire:

Josef certainly felt that he had had better weeks. As he left Mick's apartment, he was having trouble feeling that everything was all right. Though he felt that he had mended his fences with Mick, he still didn't feel that he had fully convinced his friend to forsake his current investigation.

Josef was troubled. This was exactly what he had been afraid of. This was why weres and vampires shouldn't be living in such close proximity to each other. It was to dangerous. These inevitable conflicts brought them ever closer to exposure.

As much as he hated to admit it, this entire situation was growing beyond his realm of experience. He could easily face the complex politics of vampires who had lived for hundreds years. Adding the weres into the mix was something he just didn't have any experience with. He needed more expert advice.

As he got into his Ferrari and glanced at his watch, he calculated what time it would be in Germany. At 9:00 in Los Angeles. Perhaps he could put in a call, and hopefully catch Frederich awake.

Getting back to his office, he told his secretary to hold is calls. He went into his office, and called up Frederich. "Come on, Frederich." He muttered under his breath, "Please be awake."

Luckily, after only a few rings, Josef heard Frederich's voice on the other end of the line. "Josef, my boy. A pleasure to hear from you, even considering the late hour."

Josef smiled, in a rare moment of letting his guard down with one of the few people he trusted completely. "Frederich, sorry if I woke you."

"Nonsense. I was already awake. I've been down in the cellars since sundown last evening. It's sufficiently dark and cool down here where I can't tell the difference most of the time."

Frederich was Josef's sire. He was two hundred years older than Josef, and had turned him during the ravages of war. Frederich, like Josef, was an Elder, with his territory encompassing the city Munich and the surrounding region. He was a true gentleman, a courtier who had been as comfortable in the Renaissance as he was now. He was chivalrous, intelligent and gracious. Much like Josef, he was a master of the spoken word; in fact, it would probably be fair to say that Josef learned that particular gift from his sire. He was also unfailingly loyal to those he considered his family, and if anyone tried to harm them, his temper could quickly get the better of him.

"You've been having having a great deal of success in reviving the brewing business at Monlicht Vormund." said Josef, "I'll be expecting a few bottles by Christmas."

"I'll remember that. Now, I expect that you didn't call me simply because you were curious as to how my brewing efforts were going."

Josef became serious. "No, I need your advice."

"My, this must be serious. What seems to be the trouble?"

"You remember Audrey Starre?"

"You mean the feline were who tipped me off that you were going off the deep end in '55?"

Josef flinched. The year following Sarah's failed turning was a time in his life he really hated being reminded of. "Yes, the very same. She's in LA, right now, tracking a group of were hunters. I'm running into trouble with one of the more inquisitive vampires in my city."

"Mick St. John, I would guess. I take it he doesn't know about Miss Starre's true nature?"

"No, I haven't told him. Honestly, I've been trying to avoid that. But, Mick is also not leaving it alone. I'm worried that things could get out of hand very quickly."

"And you're hoping, in my infinite wisdom, that I'll have some sort of magic word which will make it all right?"

Josef rolled his eyes. "No, but you have more experience in this sort of situation than I do. Munich is a mixed city. Vampires and weres live there, side by side. Somehow, you and the Alpha have managed to keep the area stable for almost seventy years. I know how difficult that can be. There are only five mixed cities here in the states, and three of those always seem to be in a constant state of unrest."

"I just might be lucky." said Frederich, "But, Josef, I can tell you right now that keeping St. John in the dark won't help anything. It might very well lead to the very thing you are trying to prevent by keeping it from him."

"But, what am I supposed to say to him, Frederich? It's not like it's ever easy introducing the subject of weres to a vampire who has never heard of them, but I'm afraid Starre herself didn't leave Mick with a great first impression."

"Oh, they've already crossed paths, have they?"

"Yes, Mick happened to be inspecting the body of one the murdered weres which Audrey is looking into. I'm afraid that she gave him and one of our local blood suppliers a good chewing out."

"Then it seems to me that the first step to this little problem of your's might be to patch things up with St. John and Miss Starre."

"Good god, Frederich, you make me sound like a nanny trying to get to bratty children to play nice together."

"I'm only suggesting that you put in a good word. St. John seems interested in solving this murder, and, from what you told me, he is something of a do-gooder. He should need very little coaxing to lend a helping hand."

"If Audrey approaches him with an offer of help." Josef finished.

"Precisely. This sort of thing has worked for me in the past, Josef. Put weres and vampires together against a common threat, and they can begin to put their differences aside. It's not a permanent solution, but it's a start."

"That still doesn't give me any ideas as to how I should actually handle telling Mick that there is a whole other set of supernatural beings that we vampires need to learn to share this world with along with the humans."

"I would say that you need to tell him, Josef, and soon. Wait and see how the two of them work together and then go from there. If Miss Starre is only in your city temporarily, than you should have little to worry about in the long run."

"Right," Josef scoffed, "Because I'm not planning on turning LA into a mixed city. I've got enough to deal with as it is with vampires who live here."

Frederich laughed. "Well, Josef, I am sure that you will make the right decision. You always have in the past. You know, I have yet to meet this friend of your's you've spoken so highly of. I might be overdue for a visit in the states."

Josef smiled. "There's always a freezer empty for you, Frederich."

"If that is an invitation, you can be sure that I will take you up on it. Goodbye, Josef."

"Goodbye, Frederich."

Josef hung up, and took a deep breath. As always, the advice of his sire seemed to be the most logical for him to follow. Frederich was right; he might not be able to avoid telling Mick about the existence of weres, however much he might have liked to. He was going to have to figure out the best way to do that. In the meantime, he believed that it was best to try and get Mick and Audrey working together. At the very least, that would get these hunters found faster, and this whole thing could be over sooner.

* * *

Beth had not been expecting work with Audrey Starre as much as she had been. Over the past few days, the two of them had trying to retrace the footsteps of Hank and Eddy Moore, hoping that by doing so, they could come up with a viable lead. So far, they had really had no luck. But, that was all about to change.

As she came into the office that morning, Audrey greeted her excitedly. "Beth, great news, we may have a lead on where the Moore boys were only a few hours before they were hit. They had dinner at a place about fifteen miles from the beach, called Duke's Diner."

"Creative." said Beth, "How were you able to track them down? I thought that the GPS on their car had been destroyed."

"The owner called us just a few hours ago. Security cameras at his place caught Hank and Eddy. When he saw the story on the news, he put two and two together. Ben just told me to catch you so that we can go out there and gather what we can from the footage."

"What are we waiting for, than?" said Beth.

They drove out to the diner, and met the owner, a man by the name of Harold Duke (thus the name of the diner). "I called as soon as I saw the story on the news." He told them, as he led them into the office. "I went through the footage just to make sure it was them."

Audrey and Beth both sat down in front of the TV monitor and watch the footage. The image on the monitor showed Hank and Eddy entering the diner, smiling and laughing. They sat down at a table, and a waiter came by to take their order.

"They look so happy." said Beth, who couldn't help but feel her heartstrings tug slightly at the image. "How long did they stay?" She asked Duke.

"About two hours." He replied, "They didn't cause any trouble. They were just talking to each other."

"Did you notice anything unusual?" Beth asked. "Did you see anything out of the ordinary?"

Duke shook his head. "No, I pretty much know everyone who comes in here, and aside from those two boys, the only folks I saw here were regulars."

Audrey had been watching the screen intently while Beth and Duke had been talking. She kept watching one particular section of the footage over and over. Beth wasn't sure what she was seeing, until she suddenly asked Duke. "That waiter, the one who they ordered their meal from, he wasn't the one who brought them their drinks?"

Duke looked at the waiter on the camera. "Oh, that's Kevin."

"Kevin?"

"Kevin Dalton. He works here, been here at least six months."

Audrey had continued to fast-forward through the footage, paying close attention to where Kevin was in relation to the two boys. "He certainly seems committed to making sure they're enjoying their meal. He barely lets anyone else near the table during those entire two hours. If he normally this solicitous of all your customers?"

Kevin shrugged. "Honestly, Kevin flies hot and cold sometimes. He can be the friendliest guy you ever met one day, and the next he's sullen and withdrawn. Between the two of us, I think he's got..." He mimed drinking a bottle of beer.

"You think he has a drinking problem, and you still employ him?" Beth asked, in disbelief.

"Hey, he shows up for work when he's scheduled, and he doesn't drink on the job. I don't care what he does in his off hours."

Beth looked over at Audrey, but she still absorbed with studying the footage of Kevin. "What about tonight? Was he hot or cold?" Audrey asked.

"Seemed a little chilly most of that shift, if I remember right, but those two boys came in, and he wouldn't leave them alone. Even volunteered to take over their table when one of my guys had to go home, and he stayed on that extra two hours, beyond his regular shift. It was weird."

"Is he working today?" Audrey asked. "If he is, I would like to ask him a few questions."

"Sure, I'll bring him in."

As Duke left the room, Beth looked over at Audrey. "You think that this Kevin Dalton has something to do with this?"

Audrey shook her head. "I don't know. I've just got a hunch."

"It would be a question as why he was paying so much attention to Eddy and Hank." said Beth, "Especially if he has some sort of alcohol problem."

Their conversation was cut short with the entrance of Duke, and who Beth assumed was Kevin. Kevin was in his late 40's, with hair that was more gray than brown. His blue eyes were slightly dull, and seemed to be constantly moving, glancing nervously in every direction. It was as though he were expecting an attack from any direction.

"Are you Kevin Dalton?" Beth asked.

"Um, yeah, I am." replied Kevin, rather nervously, "Duke here says that you wanted to ask me something about those two boys who were in her the other night?"

"Yes, we do." Said Audrey, "I just wanted to know why you seemed so interested in them. Duke even tells us that you went to a lot of trouble to help them."

Kevin shrugged and laughed nervously. "Well, making people feel welcome is all part of the job."

"Yes, and you certainly went above and beyond that call." said Audrey, looking so intently at Kevin that Beth herself was a little taken aback.

Kevin took a step backwards, his eyes moving rapidly to Audrey and Beth. "Wait, I'm not a suspect, am I? You're not interrogating me, are you?"

"No, of course not." said Beth, as she stepped in-between Audrey and Kevin, fearing that if Audrey kept staring at Kevin like a cat that was about to pounce on a mouse, they wouldn't be getting any useful information out of Kevin. "We just want to know a few more things. Did they seem nervous to you at all? It was the last place they stopped before they were attacked; we have reason to believe that they might ave been followed."

"No, I mean, they seemed to be pretty absorbed in themselves. They talked with me a little, though. One of them, I think, the older one, asked me if there were any good beaches around the area. He wanted a place that was relatively private. It seemed like a weird request seeing that nighttime was coming on, but I suggested a few places that I knew of." He looked down. "Maybe if I hadn't, they would still be alive. I couldn't believe it when I heard that they had died. They were both so young."

"Actually, one of them survived the attack." said Audrey, continuing to stare at Kevin.

And for the briefest of moments, indeed so fleetingly that Beth herself wondered if she had even seen it, there was a flash of panic in Kevin's blue eyes. It was clear that this was news to him, and it didn't seem entirely welcome. "That's great." He mumbled, without much enthusiasm. "Can I go? I have three tables I'm running now, and the tips are smaller the longer they wait for their food."

"Just one last question, actually." said Audrey, "Why did you help Hank and Eddy so much? I'm not asking to accuse you, I'm just curious."

Kevin was silent for a moment, before he said, "Those two boys, they reminded me of someone from a very long time ago. I'd rather not say anything else about it."

Audrey nodded, apparently satisfied. "You can go, Mr. Dalton. If you can remember anything else, please, don't hesitate to call."

Kevin muttered something that was unintelligible and quickly shuffled out of the office. Duke turned to look at them. "Told you he was a bit of an odd one. I'm sorry, though. It seems like you didn't get much out of your little visit here."

"On the contrary, Duke." said Audrey, still looking after Kevin with a thoughtful expression on her face. "You have been more than helpful."

The two of them left the diner afterward. As they were driving back to the DA's office in Audrey's rented car, Beth turned and looked at her questioningly. "I suppose that I don't have to ask if you noticed anything suspicious about Kevin Dalton."

"You don't. Clearly, there is more to the story than he is letting on. Unfortunately, we don't have anything to go on, Duke told us that he was in the restaurant at the same time that the boys were attacked. Still, I can't shake the gut feeling that he is somehow involved with it."

There was a pause, before Beth said, "When I was a reporter working for BuzzWire, nearly all of my best leads came from following a gut feeling. I'd say we should go with it."

Audrey took her eyes from the road for a moment, to give Beth a smile. "I'm glad that I'm not the only one who puts faith in these kinds of things. A lot of people in my line of work seem to have forgotten how valuable such things can be. That's one of the things I think I like about you, Beth, especially after I saw the old reports you used to do on BuzzWire."

"What you saw those?"

"Of course. You don't think that I would have wanted you working this closely with me unless I had done my research. I liked your stories; certainly not something that I would have expected to come out of an entertainment gossip site. You were the classiest person they had."

"Thanks." said Beth, who honestly was shocked that an agent working for the FBI would have bothered to even look at her old stories, or even trust someone to work with them once they had found out that she had worked for BuzzWire. "I'm glad that I inspired confidence."

They had arrived back at the office by this point, and they got out of the car. "We should probably tell Ben about Kevin." said Beth, "We can at least put him on his radar."

"Yes, but I'm almost afraid that by the time we could get something through conventional methods, we might lose the lead." It was at this moment, that Audrey's cell phone. She glanced down at the caller ID, and then looked over at Beth. "I actually need to take this, Beth. Would you mind if I caught up with you?"

"No, of course not. I'll tell Ben that you'll be here in a minute."

Audrey waited until Beth was out of ear shot, before she picked up the call. "Koston," she said, "You just can't seem to get away from me, can you?"

"You know, I wouldn't call you unless it was important, Starre. I just want to give you a piece of advice, one that you can use to help end this case faster, and therefore send you back on your way home."

"I do like the sounds of that. Though I would be missing out on your charming company."

"I'm serious, Starre. I was thinking you could use the 'unofficial' help of a friend of mind. He's a Private Investigator, named Mick St. John."

Audrey's brow furrowed. "I seem to remember meeting him a few days ago, along with another one of your vampire friends. I also seem to remember that they didn't make a great first impression."

"Neither did you, according to Mick. You chewed him up pretty god. While I have to admire your moxy, you might have overstepped your bounds."

"Excuse me, but they did happen to be looking at a body in a homicide investigation. Maybe I overreacted, but I could tell that they were vampires. I thought they were involved with the murder. I've seen it happen before."

"Well, I can vouch for both of them. Guillermo is our blood bank. He supplies blood for the vampires in LA. As for Mick, he's not just any private investigator. He's been a real hero on more than one occasion. If he was there with Guillermo, I can pretty much guarantee that it was because Guillermo found something weird on the autopsy. Mick's kind of the authority on weird and supernatural around here."

"So, you're saying that I made a mistake?"

"Of course not. I never said anything of the kind. I'm saying that you jumped to conclusions way to quickly."

Audrey heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed her eyes. "All right, fine. I'm a big enough woman to admit when I'm wrong. Chances are, though, that your friend isn't going to be willing to help me."

"Don't worry." he said, "Tell him I vouched for you. That always works."

"You certainly put a great deal of stock in the power of your word, Koston."

"When has my word ever let you down, Starre?" said Josef.

"I won't deign to respond to that. Fine, Koston. I can't promise anyhing, but I will give it my consideration."

"Thank you, Starre. I just hope that you'll make it the right consideration."

Josef hung up, and Audrey, for a brief moment, was left in silence to consider. GIVE THE MOONWALKER ANOTHER her were, HE DOESN'T NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH.

_Very true._ Audrey thought. _How to actually get him to listen to me is another question._

ASK HIS MATE. SHE SEEMS TO BE SYMPATHETIC TO US.

_Perhaps. I'll ask her before she leaves tonight._

* * *

**So, there you have it: Frederich Braun is still a character in this universe and still Josef's sire. Even though this is a different continuity, there are some characters that I just enjoy writing to much to leave behind. Of course, there will be some differences in the relationship and back-story of Josef and Frederich, but essentially, it's the same in all the important ways. **

**For right now, though, thanks for reading and please leave a review. I am still trying to figure out all the intricacies of this story, as I am essentially starting everything again from scratch. If you would let me if there is anything that you would like to see or that I could improve. Thanks so much for stinking with me. **


	7. Mistakes Admitted

**I know, two updates in the same week. It's something of a miracle. Luckily, I think I know what I want to do for the rest of this story, as the inspiration as struck. In this chapter then, we get a bit of a thawing between Mick and Audrey, one that will hopefully allow them to do both of their jobs better. Enjoy!**

Mistakes Admitted:

Beth and Audrey walked into the office, they found it buzzing with activity. Ben had put all available resources onto this case, and when he saw them come into the room, he came over to them and said, "Hey, you two, we need to talk, in private."

His expression was grave, and his voice was heavy with emotion. They didn't need to be told that something had happened.

"Ben, what's going on?" Beth asked, once they were in the office and Ben had closed the door.

"Hank just woke up a few hours ago." said Ben. He sounded tired, emotionally and physically. This case was clearly starting to take a toll on him. "I'm afraid I had to tell him that his brother was dead. His parents couldn't bring themselves to do it."

"How did he take it?" Audrey asked.

"He's devastated. Poor boy. He and Eddy were close, very close. I'm afraid that he doesn't remember much beyond getting shot. Might be a blessing in some ways. He wasn't able to witness the way his brother was chopped up. It doesn't really help much for leads for right now."

"Actually, we might have something." said Beth, "When we went to the diner today, one of the waiters there behaved suspiciously."

"In what way?" Ben asked.

Audrey and Beth briefly described what had happened at Duke's Diner, especially the behavior of Kevin Dalton. Ben listened to this with evident interest. When they had finished, he said, "I don't like the sound of this Kevin Dalton, either. We should probably look a little further into him. I'll set up a crew, we can start by tracking his movements over the last few months. I want to know about his family history, why he would come out here."

"That's an awful lot of pushing paperwork for my tastes." said Audrey, "I don't suppose that you would be able to do something a little more hands on."

"Audrey, you know the rules." said Ben, "We don't have enough to go on. Until we have something more concrete, this is the best that we can do."

Audrey clearly didn't like that, but it didn't seem that Ben was really in the mood to argue, so she let it slide, for now. But, somehow, as Beth watched her, she couldn't help but feel that Audrey was not going to take no for an answer.

* * *

Beth's thought proved to be prophetic. She could practically see her twitching with impatience as Ben went about setting up the task force, which took up most of the day. She didn't say anything to anyone, but it was clear that she would have preferred faster results.

By the end of the day, though, she surprised even Beth's expectations when she asked her as she was getting ready to leave. "Beth, I was wondering something."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"Honestly, I think that we both know we're right about Kevin Dalton."

"You mean the fact that he's probably hiding something? I know, I can't get it out of my head either. But you heard Ben. There's simply not enough evidence that we could use to connect him to the murder."

"Maybe so, but there might be other ways to get the information that we need."

"Like how?"

"Actually, I was thinking that your friend, Mick St. John might be able to help, unofficially, of course."

Beth stared at Audrey. Of all the things she could have said, this was the last thing Beth had ever expected. "How did you know about Mick?"

"Oh, come on, Beth. I find it hard to believe that he didn't happen to mention that we've already encountered each other."

"Well, now you mention it, he did say something about it. He also may have said that you weren't exactly understanding."

"I know I wasn't. I was under a lot of stress that morning, and I wasn't thinking clearly. I've since had time to think about it, and I've seen some of the reports that the department has on him. He seems to be very good at his job, far more than I initially gave him credit for. I just think that he might be able to help us."

Beth was a little suspicious. This change of heart seemed a bit to abrupt. She couldn't help but remember what had happened the last time that a strange woman had mentioned the need for Mick's help; that woman had been Mick's ex-wife, Coraline in disguise. It had only been later that she had found out the big mistake she made. True, she didn't think that Audrey was as big a threat as Coraline, but she still had her own secrets to hide.

On the other hand, maybe this would be a good thing if it could put them in a position to learn just a little bit about Audrey. "Let me call Mick." She said, "I'll see what he has to say. If he's all right with it, we could go over right now."

"I would appreciate that, Beth. Thank you."

Beth went of a little ways from Audrey, and called Mick. "Hey, Beth, what's up?" Mick asked, when he answered, "Are you on your way over?"

"Yes, I am. But I wanted to ask you something. You'll never guess what just happened."

"Surprise me."

"Audrey wants to know if she can come over and talk to you about this case with Eddy Moore."

There was silence on the other end of the line, and Beth could well imagine Mick's surprise. "Okay, I will admit that is totally unexpected. What brought this on, if I might ask?"

"We went to see someone at the diner where Eddy and Hank ate the night that the murder happened. The security cameras showed that one of the waiters spent a lot of time at their table. His name was Kevin Dalton."

"Is a suspect?"

Beth shook her head. "Honestly, neither of us can figure it out. His manager said that he normally isn't the most personable of his staff, but he practically stood at Hank and Eddy's table all night, and wouldn't let anyone else get close to them. His behavior just seemed suspicious. Plus, he acted kind of secretive when Audrey and I questioned him. I think calling him a person of interest might be the most accurate way to go. Ben's stated to put people on it, but they're moving to fast for Audrey's tastes. She seems to be wanting some outside help."

"So, why does Audrey need me?"

"I think that might be something she wants to go over with you herself." Beth paused, before saying, "Look, Mick, I know that you two didn't really get off on the right foot, and I know that you still don't trust her, but I think she seriously thinks you could help. Would you be willing to at least hear her out, for me?"

Mick took a deep breath. "You know that I can't refuse you anything when you talk to me like that, right?"

Beth smiled. "Be grateful that I don't feel a need to use it more often. I could do a lot of damage if I tried."

"All right, bring her over. I'll be waiting in my office."

"Thanks, Mick. We'll be right there."

Beth hung up and looked over at Audrey, who had been waiting nearby expectantly. "Come on, Mick's waiting for us."

* * *

Understandably, when Audrey and Beth walked into Mick's office, and Audrey saw him sitting behind his desk, the awkward tension was so thick between them that you could cut it with a knife. Beth had a feeling that she would have to play referee between them to make sure that they didn't insult each other again. "I don't really think that the two of you have met properly. Mick, this is Audrey Starre."

"Right, a pleasure." said Mick, as he stood up to shake hands with Audrey.

"Likewise." said Audrey.

The two of them stared hard at each other for a moment, analyzing each other with an intensity that was almost disconcerting. Neither of them wanted to give anything away, but they also wanted to find out as much as they could. Beth cleared her throat, causing both of them to look at her. "You know, this can go either really well and professionally, or it could go really badly because both of you wouldn't be willing to admit that you each had a role to play in how your first meeting went. It's entirely up to you which one to choose."

Audrey quirked a smile and said, "I really do like your sense of spunk, Beth." She turned back to Mick. "Please, Mr. St. John, accept my apologies for the way I spoke to you and your colleague a few days ago. I was a little upset, as you might imagine. But I should have been more respectful in my words."

Mick had heard a lot of false apologies in his lifetime. It was all part of his job as a private investigator to sniff out the phonies. Yet, Audrey meant what she said. The very least he could do was try to return the favor. "Yes, well, I might have been stepping over my boundaries a bit, too. I don't always play by the rules, but maybe this time, I should have. Beth told me how personal cases like this are for you. I can respect someone who is good at their job."

"So, can we put that behind us, then?" Audrey asked.

"I think so." said Mick, though there was still a lot between them which still hadn't been spoken. This was by no means over.

At the same time, Mick had promised Beth to hear Audrey out with an open mind when it came to this murder. And they both technically did want the same thing, which was to find the murder of Eddy Moore. If this was his chance to do something about that, then the very least he could do is try to temporarily bury his suspicions. For the time being then, he tried to bury his other suspicions and gestured for them to sit down.

"Actually, it might be because you don't play by the rules that you might be helpful in this case." said Audrey.

"Really? And what makes you think that?" Mick asked.

"I told you that we had a person of interest." said Beth, "But we don't have any solid proof against Kevin Dalton, certainly not enough for us to dig into him using federal resources."

"So, we were hoping that you might be able to find something that we could use in order to know whether we should proceed anymore against him." finished Audrey.

Mick took a moment to consider his options. "Can I ask what Talbot thinks of this idea? He's expressed reservations about my involvement with cases in the past. I highly doubt that he would welcome 'unofficial help' from me on a case like this."

Beth looked awkward, and even Audrey appeared uncertain. "I see, you haven't told him yet."

"And I don't intend to." said Audrey, "I'm willing to work outside the limits of the law if it means solving this case faster. I have to admit that this isn't the first time that I have used people like you."

"I can imagine that he wouldn't be happy if he found out."

"Leave that to me." said Audrey, "He won't find out."

Mick raised an eyebrow, even Beth looked a bit surprised at Audrey's easy confidence in this statement. "Forgive me if I don't find that very comforting." Said Mick.

Audrey sighed and said, "Look, I know Ben can be a little stubborn when it comes to accepting outside help on his cases, but I've been looking at your records with him, Mick. Honestly, you seem to be doing a lot more good than harm. Plus, he's an old friend. He knows how I work."

"And you think that you can convince him to accept Mick's help?" Beth said.

"I should be able to, if you can find out something that would be helpful, Mr. St. John. On the other hand, if Kevin Dalton is innocent, than no one ever needs to know that we had this little discussion, do they? Of course, the choice is entirely up to you, but a mutual friend of all of us thought it might be a good idea to put our differences aside and work on this together."

Beth and Mick looked at each other. "I think that we can all assume who that was." said Beth.

"Fine," said Mick, after a moment, "I want to catch this guy as much as you do. I'll see what I can do, if you'll keep Talbot off of my back."

"It's a deal." Said Audrey, with a smile, as she got to her feet and shook hands with Mick. "Thank you, Mr. St. John, I really appreciate your help in this." She looked over at Beth, "I'll see you tomorrow, Beth."

She left the office, leaving Mick and Beth alone. "Well, what do you think?" Beth asked.

"I have to say, I certainly wasn't expecting to see her again." said Mick, "But I think that you were right to bring her here."

"Good, I'm glad that this worked out better than the last time I brought a strange woman here." said Beth, no doubt also ruefully remembering the night she had inadvertently brought Coraline back into Mick's life.

"If it's consolation, I prefer this to Coraline's deception. But I still don't trust her." said Mick, as the two of them left the office and headed back into the main apartment. "Do you?"

Beth shook her head. "I honestly don't know. From everything I've learned about her, and the way I've seen her work, I think that she legitimately wants to find out who killed Eddy. But, I also have a sneaking suspicion that her idea of justice might not be to far off from Josef, an eye for an eye."

"The only question is how many lives she might be willing to sacrifice in order to get that justice." said Mick. "I still want to keep a pretty close eye on her."

"Need some help with that?"

Mick glanced over at her and smirked. "You volunteering? Here I was thinking that you liked her better than me."

"I do, but I also happen to think that the two of you still might need a referee."

"You know, you're starting to sound a lot like Josef, which is disturbing."

Beth smirked. "What can I say? Great minds really do think alike. Besides, I highly doubt that Josef has the same sense of persuasion over you that I do, unless you think about sleeping with him on a regular basis."

Mick winced, in mock horror. "You're right, I really don't. Speaking of which, I don't suppose that you have any plans for the rest of the night?"

Beth pretended to give this matter a great deal of thought for a few seconds. "Oh, you know, I was planning on just going crazy. Go clubbing, get drunk, do something that I'll regret with a total stranger in the morning. The usual stuff."

"Sounds fun." Said Mick, "How would you like to go out with me instead? There's a great restaurant a few blacks from here that just opened. It's quiet, romantic, the food is great. And if we happen to have some great sex when we get back to my place, you won't regret it in the morning, I can guarantee it."

Beth smiled, happily. "You've got me convinced, smooth talker. I'm all yous."

* * *

**So, it seems that Mick and Audrey have entered into something of a truce. Hopefully, it will last through the events which are about to come up. Thanks everyone for reading, and be sure to leave a review. **

**Next chapter: More and more evidence comes to light about Kevin Dalton and the people that he is working for. However, when darkness falls, it is sometimes a mystery as to who is the hunter and who is the prey.**


	8. One Step Forward, One Step Back

**Here is a new chapter for Cat's Cradle. Continuing to get them as quickly as I can. Again, thank you for all your patience, and for reading. I hope that you will enjoy this one. It contains a few unexpected twists and turns that I think you will enjoy.**

One Step Forward, One Step Back:

The next day brought about an interesting twist in the investigation. As Beth, Ben and Audrey all met in Ben's office, he said, "I had a team working on Kevin Dalton since last night. So far, all we've been able to come up with is that the guy didn't exist until a few months ago. He just showed up in Los Angeles, working at the Duke's Diner. Whoever he was before then has been wiped clean."

"I think I might have an idea as to his own identity." said Audrey, "I met with Linda and James last night. I showed them a picture of Kevin, and Linda recognized him as her brother, Jack Forester."

"Jack Forester?" said Beth, "Why would her brother feel a need to change his name?"

"The way that Linda tells it, Hank has been communicating extensively with a cousin of his in Connecticut, where most of Linda's family is originally from. Her name is Susan. Her parents have recently divorced, amidst rumors of abuse. After that, Mr. Forester subsequently vanished."

"All right, so this Jack Forester takes the divorce badly, disappears and tries to make a new life for himself. I can't say I feel much sympathy for him." said Ben, "But why would he want to be involved with the death of his own nephew, even if that were the case?"

"That took a little more doing, as Linda didn't want to talk about it. But, eventually she told me. Apparently, Linda went to visit her sister-in-law last year, and after seeing how her husband was treating her, she persuaded her to leave. This might have set Mr. Forester on a quest for revenge. "

"So, you might think this Kevin Dalton, or Jack Forester or whatever his name is, might blame Linda and Eddy for taking away his child?" asked Beth. Audrey nodded. "You said that this cult often uses family members to target their victims. This might have happened here."

"That sounds plausible." said Ben, considering what he had just heard. "But, if that is the case, how did he first come across the cult? And how did he know that Hank and Eddy would be showing up in the city at exactly the right time?"

"Honestly, it doesn't matter how he found out about the cult." said Audrey, "As for how he knew, if we can answer that, it might give us some solid evidence."

"I'll get my team working on it right away. Good job, you two. I'll keep you posted on what we find."

As the two women left the office, Beth turned to Audrey and said in a low voice. "Mick said that he was gong to check out the Diner today, he's hoping to put a tag on Kevin's car, maybe even talk to him. He might pick up something we missed."

"That seems to be his specialty, picking up on things that evade other people. I swear, he almost seems supernatural at times."

Beth coughed, trying to stifle her reaction at just how close Audrey was hitting her mark. "Well, Mick is just really good at what he does."

"Still, he didn't seem to keen on the idea of us not telling Ben."

"Unfortunately, the two of them have always been prickly with each other, even when they did happen to be working with each other on the same case." said Beth, "I sometimes wish that they could just get past their egos."

"Well, don't blame Ben entirely for that. I'm sure it's nothing personal against Mick. He's always been mistrustful of those who work outside the system."

"He seems to trust you, and you work outside the system."

Audrey laughed. "I'm the lucky exception. We've been friends for so long that Ben is willing to put up with quite a lot from me."

"How did you two meet anyway?" asked Beth, who was honestly curious as to how someone like Ben and Audrey could have developed any sort of friendship.

"Our first year of college. Ben was in Pre-Law, I was in law enforcement. But, our first class was being partners in chemistry, which we were both terrible in. I guess the long hours of slaving away over chemistry problems cemented our friendship. Over the years, he's become the closest thing that I've got to a family."

Beth nodded, smiling. "I know how that feels."

"So, you don't have any siblings?"

She shook her head. "Only my mom. I kind of had to learn to grow up on my own."

"I know how that lonely that sort of thing can be." said Audrey, "After I lost my family, I was pretty much on my own, as well. I'm afraid that I learned to fend for myself, and I still don't trust people easily. However, Ben helped me to see that living for yourself is pretty lonely."

"If it hadn't been for Mick, I might have turned out the same way." said Beth, with a smile. "If there is anything that I've learned over the last few months, it's that sometimes those are the best people you can rely on."

"Very true, Beth, very true."

* * *

It wasn't often that a stranger came into Duke's Diner. It was an out of the way place, many of the locals calling it a hidden gem. So, anyone who was unfamiliar tended to draw a few stares, especially when it happened to be the imposing, dark-haired man who came in and sat at one of the back booths. Though he ordered coffee and a danish, he didn't exactly see interested in eating. Instead, he watched his eyes darting everywhere in the diner, focusing for no more than a few seconds on one thing, but in that split second moment, seeing more than any human would have been able to.

However, it would turn out that Kevin Dalton had far more on his mind than trying to pay attention to every new face that came into the diner.

Mick had come to Duke's Diner in an attempt to find out if he could learn anything by observing Kevin. He had already managed to place a GPS on Kevin's vehicle, which he had identified by the license plate after a little careful hacking.

He ordered something mainly to keep up appearances. No one was really paying all that much attention to him, save the odd glance. His waitress had been thoroughly charmed by one smile, and wouldn't have questioned anything he did.

So, he sat and watched Kevin, who he was able to identify by Beth's description. He couldn't get much on the guy besides the fact that he was a nervous man, and had the scent of alcohol clinging to him. He kept looking anxiously at the door, as though he were expecting someone. Mick hadn't been there thirty minutes before two men came into the diner. They were both tall, well-built, and seemed to have the ready stance of soldiers who were still fighting a war.

One was of Hispanic origin, with black eyes and hair. The other was a white male with light brown hair and blue eyes. However, the same bright light shone in both their eyes, a light that struck Mick as being strangely fanatical the more he took it in.

Kevin stopped dead in his tracks when he saw them, and it was clear that these were the people he had been waiting for. They spoke no word to him, but the Hispanic, who clearly seemed to be in command, made a gesture for Kevin to meet them outside as soon as he could. They then turned and left.

Immediately, Kevin finished with all his tables, and asked his boss for a smoke break. As he appeared to be distracted with sorting out a problem with one of the cooks, he waved Kevin off without a second thought. Kevin took the opportunity and quickly exited the diner. The two men were waiting for him by a dark blue Sedan in one of the far corners of the parking lot. Mick saw that there was another man in the car, possibly a driver.

However, the obstacle of distance and glass made very little difference in Mick's vampire hearing, and he was able to hear exactly what was being said.

"Well, what is this about, Kevin?" said the Hispanic, "Your message made it sound urgent."

"It is, it is." Said Kevin, wringing his hands, nervously. "I don't know how it happened, I swear. But there was someone from the police department and the FBI here yesterday asking questions about Eddy and Hank. They even asked to speak to me directly."

"Did you give anything away?" asked the Hispanic, his voice dropping to a dangerous tone.

Kevin seemed to grow paler and he shook his head fiercely. "No, no, Raquel. I swear it. They were just looking at the security footage, and asked to see me because I was the waiter who helped them that night."

Almost at once, Raquel's face softened. He even smiled a little. "Than I don't see that there is anything to worry about, Kevin. We knew that something like this might happen. As long as they have no reason to suspect you, than there is nothing to worry about."

"But, we might have a bigger problem." said Kevin, "Eddy he's not dead. He managed to survive."

"What?" said Raquel, his entire expression growing darker. "I thought that we had left both for dead."

"To be fair, sir, we only shot him." said his brown haired companion, "He hadn't gone through the Changing yet. There were no trophies to be taken."

Raquel nodded, sagely. "You speak rightly, John. However, the job should have been done properly."

"Not to mention that we've got to silence a witness." said the man, who was still in the car. "Can't have anything coming back to us."

Raquel turned to Kevin, who appeared to have paled in horror at their casual talk of killing his nephew. "Well, Kevin, I believe that you have a good opportunity to prove yourself as worthy of joining our ranks."

"But, I thought that I had already done that."

"Yes, the information you gave for the first assault was invaluable, but it's time for something a bit more... concrete."

"Well, what did you have in mind?"

"I want you to finish what we started." said Raquel, with deadly finality.

Kevin stared at Raquel, eyes with with horror. "B-but, I don't know if I can..."

"Need I remind you of what these creatures took from you?" Raquel ominously, coming closer to Kevin. "Your sister destroyed your marriage, drove your wife into a divorce, and worst of all, stole your daughter away from you. Have you forgotten the pain and agony in which I found you? When I told you of the existence of these monsters, you saw what they were, the unnatural manner in which they lived, and the mission which we have undertaken to eradicate them from the earth."

Mick may not have been able to hear Kevin's heartbeat, but he didn't really need to. He could already see that the man was terrified. And yet, there was another emotion which seemed to stir at the very same time as the fear. Within Kevin's eyes, the nervousness began to fade. Replacing it was that same fanatical light which Mick had seen in Raquel and his companions: a cold, determined and merciless choice. Somehow, this Raquel inspired not only terror and dread, but also undying loyalty to a cause that Mick didn't necessarily understand, but which he knew could only end in blood being shed.

"Yes, yes, you told me all of that. You gave me a purpose again." said Kevin, in a voice that was chillingly monotone, almost as though he were being hypnotized by Raquel's gaze. "These monsters are not human. They are the scum of the earth and they deserve to be destroyed without mercy."

Raquel nodded, satisfied by what he was hearing. "You are quite right. And we must start with the children of such creatures, for we must cut off the threat before it even begins. So it has to be with your nephew. Have you not considered what he could become in a few years, the damage he could do to other families like yours? No, he must be stopped."

"He will be, Raquel. I promise." said Kevin, "But, how will I kill him? He's still in the hospital and there will be people who could see and identify me."

"Leave all that to me." said Raquel, "If you go to the hospital tonight at 11:30, the way will be made open for you. Here, take this." He handed Kevin a small syringe filled with a clear liquid. "This is a special poison that we use in our hunts. Be careful that you don't touch it in anyway, as it is deadly to humans as well as weres. Simply inject it into Hank's IV line, and he will slip into a coma and die within a few hours. No one will know it was you. I give you my word."

Kevin nodded. "Of course, Raquel. I understand. I won't fail you. I will prove myself to you. I swear it."

Raquel smiled, a satisfied smile that was enough to send chills down Mick's spine. "I know that you won't, Kevin. I have faith in you."

Mick didn't need to hear anymore. He had already heard quite enough for several lifetimes. Raquel and his henchmen got into their car and drove off. As they left, his waitress came back over to him. "Is there anything else that I can get you?"

Mick turned to her and despite the horror of what he had just heard, he still managed to smile up at her, as he got to his feet and left a few bills on the table, including a rather generous tip. "No, thank you. I think that I got everything I needed."

He headed for the door, and just happened to run into Kevin as he was coming back into the restaurant. "Oh, sorry, sir." said Kevin, "I didn't see you there."

"No problem." said Mick, showing no hint of the fact that he wanted very much to tear Kevin into a few dozen pieces for what he had done to his nephew.

Back in his own car, Mick took a few moments to assess what he had witnessed. Audrey had been right on more than one count. Not only was Kevin responsible for pointing the killers in the right direction, but she had also been right about the leaders of these cults. Raquel was unquestionably insane, and yet, like so many other people who believed they were doing the right thing by slaughtering innocent people, he had a strange sort of charisma, a way of swaying people to his cause by sheer force of personality. He had managed to convince Kevin to kill his own nephew with only a few words, and Kevin had accepted the assignment without question.

A part of him would wanted to track down Raquel and his fellow murderers and take care of them, permanently. But he forced himself to remember his promise to Audrey. She was the expert here, not him. She was the one who knew how these people operated and had the best chance of bringing them in before they killed anyone else.

He dialed her number. She picked up on the second ring. "Mick St. John, I wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon. You're quick."

"Yeah, I wish that I had better news, Audrey. I went to the diner and I was able to overhear Dalton talking with some guy called Raquel."

"Raquel?" said Audrey, who seemed to to latch onto the name immediately, "Raquel Juarez?"

"I didn't catch his last name. He was a big guy, over six feet-"

"Well-muscled, ready for action, has a real confidence about him which makes him really hard to ignore?"

"Yes, right on the money. So, I take it you've heard of him?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She growled tightly. "He's one of the worst cult leaders that I've come across in the last few years. He's ruthless, and will cut down anyone in his path. He's very secretive and difficult to track. I can't believe that you managed to get close enough to him to hear what he was saying."

"From what I heard, neither Kevin nor Raquel was aware of the fact that Hank survived the attack. Raquel said that Hank needed to be taken care of and told Kevin that he needed to do it."

"Yes, most often cults have some sort of final test, and it normally involves killing off someone close to them, so they can prove that their commitment to the cause is stronger than any ties of blood and family."

The disgust in her voice could not be missed, and for once, Mick was in complete agreement with her. He was beginning to understand just why Audrey was so passionate about bringing these groups of people to justice. Despite their differences, he wanted to stop them just as much as she did, by whatever means necessary.

"Well, whatever is going to happen will be going down tonight. Raquel gave Kevin some type of syringe, said that it contained a poison that would gradually stop Hank's heartbeat. He said he wanted it done by tonight."

Mick heard her take a deep breath on the other end of the line. "Tonight? Mick, are you absolutely certain that you heard him correctly?" The anger in her voice was now mixed with something else, what Mick might have almost described as excitement.

"I'm positive." said Mick, "You should get everyone in on this, Audrey."

"Of course, of course. I'll take care of everything." said Audrey, and then, in a distinctive shift from any other tone that he had ever heard from her, she said, "Mick, thank you, for all that you've done. I don't think that we would have gotten this far this quickly without you."

"You're welcome." said Mick, sensing that he had earned a bit of Audrey's respect. If that was the case, than he believed he should learn to respect her. He was going to keep his distance for now, no matter how much he would have liked to take out these guys himself. "Let me know if there is anything more that I can do to help."

It seemed as though Audrey picked up on the subtext of his meaning. "I will, I promise. Josef was right about you, Mick, you are good."

Mick hung up, hoping fervently that he had done the right thing.

* * *

On the other end of the line, as Audrey let the line drop, she did immediately tell Ben about what she had just heard. As a matter of fact, she made no move to tell anyone. Instead, for several seconds, she sat in her chair, a deeply thoughtful expression on her face.

"Hey, Audrey." Beth's voice seemed to bring her out of her trance. She turned to look over at Beth, who was standing above her, looking concerned. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, of course." said Audrey, "Sorry, I must have spaced out. This case is just draining me."

"I know what you mean." said Beth, "It feels like we're just sitting around and waiting at this point. Have you heard anything from Mick, by the way?"

Again, Audrey did not tell Beth that Mick had contacted her. Instead, she said, "No, I'm afraid that he hasn't."

She hated lying to Beth, but from the moment that she had heard that Kevin Dalton would vulnerable and alone, wide open to attack. Like every predator, she knew that it was always best to wait for the right moment to attack. Her instincts had been awakened, and they were now to intense her to resist.

Deep within her, her were was purring with delight. THE HUNT CAN BEGIN. TONIGHT, KEVIN DALTON WILL PAY, IN BLOOD! And this time, Audrey had no objection to what her were was saying. She had been holding that part of herself back for as long as she had arrived in LA, now it was time to set her other half loose.

* * *

**Well, it seems that Audrey is going to take care of Kevin Dalton herself. Hopefully, that won't backfire. Of course, things are not going to be straight forward, for anyone. In the next chapter, a lot of questions will be answered, while whole new difficulties are presented to our heroes. In the meantime, please read and review. Thanks for reading.**

**Next chapter: Audrey's hunt runs into an unexpected obstacle, when it becomes apparent that Raquel Juarez's hunters are not just made up of humans. And Mick finally bears witness to the secret which Audrey is hiding, and his world is about to get a whole lot bigger. **


	9. The Hunt

**I know, I keep sounding like a broken record when I say sorry for the long wait in-between updates. Life just has a way of getting in the creative way. Still, this chapter was kind of a big one, as it is kind of the turning point of the whole story. So, I hope that you enjoy it. **

The Hunt:

Later that evening, Ben came over to Beth's desk in the DA's office, his expression grimly satisfied. "Beth, great news! We've had a breakthrough."

"That's certainly the good news that we've all been waiting to hear." said Beth, "What is it?"

"Here, take a look. It's all in there." said Ben, as he handed her a few pages of readouts. "You remember that Hank was communicating with who he though was his cousin in Connecticut? Our tech people were was able to trace the IP address that was being used on the Facebook page that supposedly belonged to his cousin. It led to an address on the outskirts of LA, one that just happens to belong to Kevin Dalton. It looks like Hank was talking to his uncle all along."

Beth looked over the readouts, which outlined several messages and on-line conversations which had been taking place over the last six months. "Looks like Hank told her everything. Look at this, he even mentions that he and his brother would be going to Duke Diner one night."

"And a few days after, we have Kevin starting his job at the Diner. Every night that Hank and Eddy were going to be in LA, he picked up extra shifts, probably on the off chance that he would run into them."

"And since there are recent pictures of Hank and Eddy on Facebook, Kevin was probably to recognize them. According to what their parents told Audrey, neither of them had ever met their uncle, so they didn't recognize him."

"I'm going to call in a warrant." said Ben, "We have an address and enough evidence to bring this guy in."

"I'll let Audrey know as soon as I find her." Beth said, who was glad to see the wheels of justice were finally turning.

"By the way, have you seen Audrey. She said that she was going to get a bite to eat, but that seems like a long time ago."

Beth's brow furrowed, as she suddenly realized that it had been awhile since she had seen Audrey herself. "I don't know. I'll try calling her."

"Good. Let me know when you have her."

"I will, Ben." said Beth, as the DA moved off to begin putting together the resources he needed.

However, before she could begin dialing Audrey's number, her phone started ringing. It was Mick. "Hey, Mick. I can't talk for long. There's been a break-through on Eddy's murder."

"Yeah, so I heard." said Mick, "I'm surprised that I haven't heard from you until now. I was expecting you to call me with some sort of update a few hours ago."

Beth was confused by this point. "Mick, what are you talking about?"

"Kevin Dalton. I tracked him down and witnessed a meeting between him and the leader of this cult. It was pretty definitive of his guilt. When I called Audrey, she said that she would take care of everything."

"Mick, when I asked Audrey earlier if she had heard anything from you, she said that she hadn't. In fact, I don't even know where she is right now, and I have to tell her what Ben found."

In his office, Mick sat back in his chair, utterly stunned by what he had just heard. "But, why would she keep that information to herself? I thought that she would jump at the chance to bring him in."

Beth shook her head. "I don't know either, Mick. I can't think of any reason she would have kept that information to herself."

Mick was silent for a few moments, and in a flash, he had a terrible thought. "Unless she wanted the chance all to herself."

"Mick." said Beth, not quite sure what he was aiming at.

"Beth, wait just a minute. I tagged Dalton's car while I was at the diner this morning." He pulled up the tracking signal from the GPS, and sure enough, it was coming strongly from the very hospital where Hank was being treated. "Beth, I don't think you'll be finding Kevin Dalton tonight, not alive at least. Audrey is taking care of him herself."

"What? By herself? She wouldn't be that crazy, would she?"

"Honestly, I don't think that she's crazy." said Mick, "I think this is what she sees as justice."

"What should we do?"

"I need you to keep Ben occupied. Do not let him get near the hospital. If Audrey went this far in order to take justice into her own hands, there's no telling how far she might go in order to keep it that way. Whatever her secret is, she could be revealing it tonight, and I think it might be best if Ben didn't find out about it."

"Are you going to try and stop her if she goes after Kevin?"

Mick had already gotten to his feet and he was on his way out the door. "Honestly, I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I'll just have to see when I get there."

There had been a full moon the night that Eddy Moore had been murdered. Now, that moon was on the wane. The shadows it cast were longer and darker. It was a perfect night for another murder.

It was also the perfect night for a hunt.

Like most prey, Kevin Dalton had no idea that he was being tracked. He had arrived at the hospital and parked his car in the garage. Raquel had assured him that everything would be taken care of, and that nothing which he did tonight would ever be traced back to him. He had no reason to doubt his leader's word; indeed, he followed it with unquestioning obedience and loyalty. The problem was actually trying to work himself up to actually do it.

He was no killer, or so he tried to tell himself. Though he had fed Raquel and his hunters the information which had allowed them to take down his two nephews (not that he even really considered them family, or even human), he was having a more difficult time telling himself that this case was no different. He was merely eradicating an abomination from the face of the earth. It made no difference that the abomination in this case was related to him, or even that he was only a boy. Of course, telling himself such things and actually believing them were two very different things.

And he was so absorbed in trying to convince himself of the rightness of his cause, that he didn't even hear or see the approach of the predator through the deserted garage, until a voice suddenly broke the silence. "Coming to finish what your hunter friends started?"

Kevin stopped dead in his tracks. For several seconds, he looked all around him, trying to discern where the voice was coming from. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shift shadow move in he darkness, and he whirled around to look in that direction. However, there was still nothing, save the mocking echo of that voice. "I have to ask, Kevin Dalton, or should I call you, Jack Forrestor..."

Kevin swallowed hard, but his throat remained dry. He was beginning to sweat, his heart hammering with a nameless dread. Then, the voice spoke from behind him. "How does it feel to be the one hunted?"

He turned around slowly, only to be confronted by a face that was hauntingly familiar, but also deeply terrifying. "You're the FBI officer, " said Kevin, staring in horror at her face, "But, you're... you're not human."

He was right. Audrey Starre no longer resembled a human. Her hands ended in what appeared to be long, sharp claws. Her eyes, no longer their normal sharp gray, were glowing a bright, faintly disturbing green. The pupils themselves were no longer round, but slit-like, resembling those of a cat.

Her teeth were longer and sharper now. Kevin was getting too good a view of them, as she was smiling widely. Her voice was pitched lower, a strange, chilling combination of a purr and a snarl. "Brilliant observation. I'm not human, but I'll be far more humane than you were to your nephew."

Kevin's eyes grew wide. "How did you know-"

"That's not really important, is it?" Audrey hissed, her eyes glowing ever brighter as she stalked towards Kevin, her movements graceful and precise as a leopard on the prowl. "This is your last stand, Kevin. I'm going to give you one last chance to make up for even a little of what you have done. Tell me, where are the hunters hiding in this city? They always need some sort of central base to hide from."

Kevin, though he knew that he was staring death in the face, tried to be brave. He remembered all of the reasons that he had to hate these creatures, the stories that Raquel had told him of the suffering that they had caused. His resolve hardened. "I'm not going to tell you anything. You animals destroyed my life."

"From what I understand of your situation, Kevin, you ruined your life yourself."

"Linda Moore turned on me, her own flesh and blood. She convinced my wife to leave me just as we were working things out. It's because of her interference that I never see my little girl anymore."

"You put your wife in the hospital twice. You were a serial alcoholic, dangerously unstable. You left your little girl while you went on a drinking spree. Linda knew you were a lost cause. She was only getting your wife and daughter out of harm's way before you killed them."

"She interfered when she had no right to." shouted Kevin, his rage and hatred finally coming clear. "What right does she have to say what happens in my family when she abandoned us to go live with you mutated freaks of nature? She took everything from me, and now she knows a little of what that feels like."

Audrey's were bristled, and she felt her counterpart become even more pronounced in her features. "I gave you a chance, but I see that such things are wasted on the likes of you."

"You're not going to succeed." said Kevin, "I'm going to kill you and Hank, that will make my new leader very pleased with me. I shall help purge the world of your disgusting kind if it's the last thing I do."

"It will be, Kevin."growled Audrey, darkly, "It will be."

The attack came so swiftly and suddenly that Kevin didn't even have time to react. One moment, Audrey had been standing still. The next moment, she was a mere blur of movement that flashed across Kevin's line of sight, before he felt her slam into him. He was knocked to the ground. He struggled to raise himself to a sitting position, but Audrey was to fast for him to recovery. She was already upon him, striking him across the face with a handful of sharp claws which left long, bloody gashes down his face. He screamed in pain, feeling the blood running into his eyes and blinding him.

Audrey took advantage of his distraction, punching him hard in the stomach. As he doubled over in pain, Audrey delivered a vicious right hook to his face. Kevin was no fighter, and wouldn't have been able to defend himself for very long if Audrey hadn't been human. He didn't stand a chance against an enraged were.

Kevin fell to the ground, striking his head on the hard concrete. For Audrey, however, simply leaving him unconscious was not enough. She had come to finish Kevin, and she was intended to do it.

It only took a slight twist of the neck, and with a crunch of bone, Kevin Dalton was dead. Audrey looked down at his bloody, beaten body. IT'S FINISHED. She heard her were purring with satisfaction, EDDY MOORE IS AVENGED.

_Let's hope that it ends there._ Audrey replied to her were. _The only other deaths which should come from this are those of more hunters. _

THEN MAYBE WE COULD FIND SOME MORE OF THEM TONIGHT. Her were suggested. I AM UP FOR A LITTLE MORE HUNTING.

Suddenly, this inner dialogue was brought to a sudden halt when Audrey smelled something on the night air. Something was coming towards her, but it wasn't a human, which would have been bad enough. However, this scent was something far worse. It was coming swiftly, lured by the smell of the blood which she had shed, and now it would be wanting to shed her's.

Audrey had always known that there were some vampires who made a sport of killing weres. The undead saw them as worthy prey, and believed that their blood had a better taste. It only made sense that Raquel would have sent a back-up in case Kevin Dalton couldn't or wouldn't finish the job. The last witness would have to be silenced.

Audrey might have stood a better chance than normal humans when it came to surviving and fighting off vampires, but when she couldn't see an attack coming, those advantages were rendered useless. The vampire seemed to materialize out of the darkness, and was upon her before she even had a chance to react. She was knocked hard to the ground, and landed hard on her head. Her vision swam around her; everything was hazy and unsettled. Her sense of equilibrium was completely thrown off. It didn't help when the vampire was on her again before she could recover, delivering several kicks to her stomach that sent waves of pain throughout her entire system.

LET ME OUT! Snarled her were, who was itching for a fight. YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME A FAIR CHANCE WITH KEVIN. GIVE ME A CHANCE TO DO A LITTLE HUNTING OF MY OWN.

There might have been times when Audrey would have liked to argue with her were about the appropriateness of changing, but now was not one of those times. Even if she had had a mind to object, it was already to late. Instinct was already taking over. Deep within her, her bones and organs were beginning to change their shape and location. She could feel the thousands of tiny pinpricks all over her body, as her skin began to be replaced by thick fur. Her eyes were still glowing, growing more intense in color. Her hands and feet were being twisted into large paws.

There was really no adequate way to describe what it felt like to phase if someone had never experienced it. The best that Audrey had ever been to come up with was that it felt like she was coming apart at the seams, only to be remade into something else completely. Sometimes, it could hurt. Other times, like now, it could be exhilarating.

The vampire was not able to sense the change. He was to hungry for blood. He tackled Audrey, landing on her back and pinning her writhing form beneath him. He tried to grab her shoulders, and sink his teeth into her neck, but her change was preventing him from getting the right grip. He missed his mark and his teeth sank into her shoulder, tearing at her flesh, and leaving a deep, bleeding wound.

Audrey's cry of pain was not something which came from any human. It was a high, snarling roar of pain. And it was the pain that pushed her over the edge. The last vestiges of her human form vanished into the black fur, claws and teeth of a panther. Audrey the human was now in the background. Now her were was in full control.

She arched her back, and threw the vampire off of her. She lashed out with her claws, growling and snarling. The vampire barely managed to dodge the blow and jumped to his feet. Vampire and were began circling each other, each trying to find an opening, and a waiting for a chance to strike.

And no sooner had Audrey changed, then Mick St. John appeared on the scene. Arriving at the parking the garage, and the smell of blood and the sounds of a fight led him to where the conflict was taking place.

What he saw first was the body of Kevin Dalton. He wasn't sure if he should be exactly surprised that he was dead, nor could he say that he was sorry to see a scumbag like Dalton removed from the face of the earth. What he was not expecting to see was a vampire locked in a fight to the death with a black, panther-like cat.

He was stunned, frozen in disbelief as he watched the fight unfolding before him. He had never seen an animal like this panther, which appeared not only larger, but stronger and faster than he would have expected. Normally, any wild animal wasn't a threat to a vampire. But this panther was more than a match for the vampire it was fighting.

Mick would have tried to use his sense of smell to try and see the events which had led up to this. However the scene was still to frenetic, and what Mick was able to see was disjointed and confusing. But, Mick was able to put two and two together quickly enough, and he had no idea how that was even possible.

And yet, there was one thing which the scene before him was making clear. Whoever, or whatever Audrey Starre was, she wasn't the enemy. He may not have understood all the variables, but when he saw the vampire getting the better of the panther, he felt compelled to step in.

Audrey was pinned to the ground. She was desperately trying to bite and claw her way free, but she was at a disadvantage. The vampire drew back to deliver the strike, so consumed with blood-lust that he didn't even notice Mick's approach. Mick, fully vamped at this point, raced up behind the attacking vampire and grabbed him by the back of the neck. He hissed in surprise and shock, but Mick was to quick for him. Taking advantage of the momentary lapse in concentration, and threw the attacking vampire several feet away.

He knew that would only buy them a few seconds. He turned to the panther, who was already beginning to struggle to her feet. He took a step towards her, intending to offer her a helping hand. However, he was still vamped out, and Audrey herself was already highly agitated. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins. She was weakened by blood loss, and her shoulder was throbbing. At first, she didn't know that Mick was an ally in this fight. For a moment, all she could smell was that another vampire was on the scene and that he was a threat.

Without thinking, she lashed out at Mick, her claws swiping at his arm before he had a chance to dodge the blow. Mick reeled back a few steps and glanced down at the gashes on his arm. They were superficial, they wouldn't have slowed him down even if he didn't have the advantage of being a vampire. However, what struck him as odd was that the wounds didn't immediately heal.

He looked over at the panther, who wasn't preparing for another attack, but rather seemed incredibly surprised to find that he was even there. And indeed, it was only now that Audrey's were was actually able to recognize him. _Nice going._ scoffed her human side, _You might very well have ruined the only help you're going to get with this fight._

WELL, HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT HE WAS EVEN GOING TO BE HERE? muttered back the were. BESIDES, IT'S NOT LIKE YOU WERE EVER THAT BEST BUDDIES.

_Well, he's here now. You might as well make use of him if he's going to help._

Neither human nor were had time argue the point further. The vampire had recovered himself, and by this time, he was angry. He roared in rage, and came charging over to the two of them. Mick placed himself directly in front of the panther, taking the brunt of the charge himself. He managed to stay upright, and delivered a vicious punch to his opponent's face. Snarling in pain, the other vampire shoved Mick hard into one of the cement pillars of the parking garage.

Mick could already sense that this guy knew what he was doing. He was a trained fighter and had the advantage of at least a century on him. There was a chance that the fight could be a long one. Luckily, the numbers just happened to be against him. Even as the vampire came stalking towards him and Mick mentally prepared himself for the next round, they both heard what sounded like a mix of a scream and a growl, and the panther came leaping at the enemy vampire, knocking him off balance and giving Mick a chance to plan his next move.

The vampire growled in anger, backhanding the panther viciously across the face. It knocked her back a few paces, but it didn't put her out of the fight. She got to her feet, her whip-like tail twitching back and fourth in angry agitation. Those green eyes, glowing unnervingly in the dark, were still burning with a fierce intelligence.

A snarling growl rumbled up from deep within her throat. She jumped on the vampire once again, her jaws clamping onto his shoulder, her claws digging into her skin. The vampire screamed in pain, and grabbed her head with both hands, forcing her off of him. Again, Mick could see that the wounds weren't healing; the vampire's shoulder was bleeding heavily. It would be an advantage which they could hopefully exploit in order to destroy him.

As the fight went on, Mick noticed that the panther was fighting with what could only be described as intelligence and strategy. She was dodging and feinting, using the vampire's height and weight against him in order to trip him up. Every so often, she would run in and deliver a bit or slash to his legs and lower torso. She also seemed to work in tandem with Mick's attacks, allowing him to take on the bulk of the heavy work, while she served as a distraction. Together, they were able to whittle away at the strength of the vampire one one bite and scratch at a time.

The enemy vampire was putting up a brave fight, but he was starting to lose ground. Mick had been keeping him on his toes, but the vampire had left his back wide open to attack. Audrey saw her moment and took it without hesitation.

She leaped forward, putting all the power of her body into the jump. She landed with full force on the vampire's back, forcing him to the ground with her on top. Snarling with rage, her fangs flashed downwards, burying themselves into the back of the vampire's neck. The head of the vampire came off with a shattering of bone and flesh, while the vampire wailed one last time in agony before being truly silenced forever.

As the final dying scream of the vampire hunter faded away, a deathly silence filled the air. The panther, her body covered in the blood of the decapitated vampire, turned and looked over at Mick, who was still vamped out himself, with silver eyes and fangs. Panther and vampire regarded each other warily.

Several long seconds passed, before something seemed to snap the panther back to motion and awareness. Had he been able to hear her instincts, Mick would have caught words like run, hide, get away from this place of danger. In a moment, the panther turned and ran, vanishing into the shadows.

Mick thought about going after her, but when he saw the two dead bodies on the ground, he realized that he had a more immediate problem that needed to be taken care of first and foremost. It would be only a matter of time until some hapless human stumbled upon the remains and a whole new load of questions began to be asked. There was already to much scrutiny going on with the case of Eddy Moore. Mick was fairly sure that the vampires in the city didn't need anymore.

He pulled out his cell phone and called up the Cleaner. He gave his location, and the situation, though he didn't give the full truth. "I can't be sure of what happened exactly." he said, "Only that there appears to have been some sort of altercation between a couple vampires and a human, possibly one that they were hunting. The guy managed to decapitate one of them before he was killed, and the other vampire got away."

"We'll take care of it." came the business-like response of the Cleaner on the other end of the line.

"I know, and if I could ask an extra favor, the human is a suspect in a murder case. It might be best for everyone involved if the police found his body far away from here, and that he looked like he died in a car accident on the road."

"That won't be a problem either, Mick." said the Cleaner, "Cleaning up the mess is always easier when we make it."

Mick hung up and returned to his car. He took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves and try to figure out what his next course of action should be. Kevin Dalton was dead, vampires were now tied up in this mess of cults and murders, and there was some sort of creature which he had never seen before running around making the whole thing even more complicated.

He realized that there was probably only one person of his acquaintance who knew all of the answers. He took out his phone again and dialed up Josef. It was time for his best friend to give him an explanation as to just what the hell was going on.

* * *

**As always, please leave a review after you have read. I always love to hear what people think. **


	10. Cat's Cradle

**Well, here is the chapter that deals with the fall out from the previous chapter. A lot of questions are hopefully going to get answered as the concept of weres is introduced to Mick and Beth, and just why it is that there interactions between the two factions are so complicated. **

Cat's Cradle:

Midnight was fast approaching over the city of LA, and in one of the rich neighborhoods that occupied the foothills just outside of downtown, a dark shape raced through the night. Dodging in-between the few pools of bright light which shone from houses and street lamps, she was trying to avoid anything that would have exposed the secret of her form to unsuspecting eyes.

It was not easy. She had been injured in the fight with the vampire, and was now limping heavily on her left front paw. The wound in and of itself was hardly life-threatening. She would be able to heal quickly, but only if she found someplace safe to rest.

INJURED, I'M LOSING BLOOD. NEED TO FIND A SHELTER, A SAFE PLACE.

The were's inner dialogue was racing, her human side momentarily lost as her instincts pushed her to keep going, but how much farther she did not know.

WHERE TO GO? NOT TO THE HOTEL, NOT THE OUTSKIRTS. TO FAR, TO MANY HUMANS BUT I CAN'T GO ON MUCH FURTHER.

However, perhaps her instincts had not been quite so random as she had at first thought. There was a scent that was lingering in the air, a scent which was familiar. She had been to this area once, almost twenty years before, when she had briefly been through LA. She had needed advice about how to deal with a rogue faction of vampire hunters. It may have been years, but her memory was still keen.

Josef. She was near Josef's mansion. Perhaps she would be able to find shelter there. It was a dire situation for a were when the only one they could turn to for help was a vampire. However, right now, it seemed to be the only option open to her.

She turned her course to the mansion. It didn't take her long to get there, despite the fact that she could feel her strength was fading rapidly. A wall surrounded Josef's property, though fortunately, there were more than a few tall trees scattered around the perimeter. Despite the injury in her leg, she still could climb and jump.

She clawed her way up one of the elm trees, jumping on top of the wall once she got that high. She paused, straining her sensitive hearing to catch the slightest hint that she had been seen. All was still in the yard below her, however, and after a few moments, she felt confidant that her leap would not be noticed.

Actually being able to take the leap without further damaging herself, was an entirely different matter. Eying the ground below her, she could take some comfort in the fact that the soft glass would help with some of the impact. However, it would still be painful regardless of how she proceeded. Taking a deep breath, she leapt downward.

She landed, and her front leg buckled underneath her. At the sharp wave of pain that flashed through her, she let out a growling yowl of pain. Her breathing sounded harsh, even to her own ears, and she looked around anxiously. Somewhere, deep in her mind, she heard the voice of her human side. _Josef will have security in place. You need to be careful, or find him, before we are found._

The panther acknowledged with a slight twitch of her head, and a chirping growl. She started forward, trying to keep to the shadows as much as possible. Being as Josef was used to a nocturnal schedule, she was certain that he would already by up. Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the golden light that was flooding across the lawn. It came from a room in the mansion that opened onto a patio, in front of which there was a lap pool.

As she approached the open doorway of the room, she was relieved to see and hear the Josef was already inside. Good, that would make this much easier. However, no sooner had she felt this relief, than she sensed that Josef wasn't alone in the room.

Out of instinct, she ducked down behind a nearby bush, and peered through the leaves. Besides Josef, there were two other people, who she soon recognized as being Mick St. John and Beth Turner.

The sound of their voices was carrying quite clearly on the night breeze, and she was soon able to pick up on the conversation. Mick was agitated, pacing back and fourth across the room. He was also angry, directing accusatory glances at Josef. "Josef, I didn't come here for more of your denials. I came here for answers."

"You saw it, Mick. I really don't know what you think you'll find out from me."

Josef himself was standing by the open doors, his arms crossed. He appeared to be easy in the midst of Mick's anger, but his shoulders were tense, and the expression on his face was clearly one of a man who was trying to keep control of a situation.

Mick spun around and snarled darkly at Josef. "Will you stop it, Josef? You haven't started to call me crazy or delusional yet, so that means you must believe me."

"And what about you, Beth? What do you have to say to the fact that Mick says he saw a panther in the killing a man and a vampire, in the middle of LA?"

"I would probably say that a year ago, I didn't know that vampires existed, so the fact that might be other, equally strange stuff out there doesn't exactly surprise me." said Beth, "I'm willing to believe him. I also don't think it's to much of stretch to say that this thing, whatever it was, has some sort of connection Audrey. And I don't think that you're telling us everything you know, and haven't since the day this whole thing started."

"So, you're both against me, lovely." said Josef. He turned away from the two of them, and looked out into the yard. "The next thing I know, you'll be leading a rebellion to..." His voice trailed off, and she saw his eyes were staring right at her hiding place. His face grew momentarily confused and he inhaled slightly. That one action seemed to confirm everything, and he stepped over the threshold into the yard.

"Josef, where are you going? We haven't finished yet..." Mick had been in the process of following the older vampire outside, when he suddenly stopped, and he too sniffed the air deeply. His eyes grew wide when he recognized the scent and his mouth dropped open.

"Josef, oh my god, you can't be serious?"

"Mick, what is it?" asked Beth, the blond realizing that the two vampires had sensed something that she wouldn't be able to.

"Beth, stay back." said Mick, "Josef, are you out of your mind?"

Josef, who was half way to her hiding place, turned around and said, "Mick, would you try to keep an open mind?"

"Oh, that's rich coming coming from you."

"Mick, wold you mind telling me what's going on?" Beth asked.

"I think whatever killed Kevin and that other vampire tonight is out there. The smell is the same."

She had herd every word of this, and she was not sure whether to be afraid or merely cautious. As she watched Josef approach her hiding place, she crouched even further into the shadows. When Josef came around the side of the bush and knelt down beside her, her ears were laid black, her eyes glowing. "I don't think you really need to be nervous." he said, his tone unusually gentle. "Mick's actually not that bad once you get to know him. Besides, you're the one who sought me out, otherwise you wouldn't be here."

Mick and Beth, curiosity overcoming caution, had ventured out onto the patio, and were watching the proceedings with strange fascination. "Josef, what are you doing?"

"Mick, will you be quiet? I'm trying to get her to come out without dragging her."

LIKE YOU COULD MANAGE TO DO SO WITHOUT GETTING AN ARM CLAWED OFF. Hissed the panther.

And though the words were not in any language that any human or vampire would have been able to understand, the meaning seemed clear enough to Josef, who smirked in amusement. "Just tell me that the other guy is even worse shape."

I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT YOU SHOULD THINK ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY. The were sniffed smugly. On that, she could actually report with some confidence.

"Come on, it's time that you met Mick and Beth properly."

The panther hesitated, but the voice of Audrey spoke in the back of her mind. _Stop being so stubborn._

YOU'RE THE ONE WHO SUSPECTED HIM FIRST. Muttered the were.

_Yes, and I've admitted that I made a mistake. Will you pull yourself together? It's only two vampires and a human. Now stop cowering like a frightened kitten._

The were threw an angry growl at her human side, before she got to her feet, and limped heavily out from behind the bush to walk over to Josef's side.

To say the Beth and Mick were utterly stunned when the black panther come into view would have been an understatement. Beth had been warned by Mick, but there was a distinct difference between having it described, and actually seeing it. Even Mick was somewhat taken aback by the fact that the fierce, nearly unstoppable feline he had seen a mere hour before was now following relatively quietly and calmly behind Josef. She was by no means tamed, though. The fierce, glowing light in her bright eyes bore testament to that.

Josef himself didn't seem to consider the situation at all out of the ordinary. He was walking slowly by the side of the panther, supporting her as she limped along the grass. As the two of them crossed onto the stones of the patio. They passed in front of Mick and Beth. Josef looked over at their faces and smiled in amusement at their still stupefied expressions.

"Stop gawping, you two. It's not polite."

They went past them and entered the house. Mick and Beth looked at each other, before following them. Once inside, Josef gestured to one of the couches in the room. "Help yourself. Try not to shed on the furniture, all right?"

The panther turned a glare at Josef, and growled, almost sounding annoyed. Nevertheless, she wasn't really in a mood to anything more by this time. She was beginning to feel weak from blood loss, and the pain in her leg was becoming overwhelming. She limped over to the couch and jumped up onto it.

Meanwhile, Josef had went over to Mick. "I don't suppose you'd be able to treat Audrey if you have the right tools?"

"What?" said Mick, "What do you mean, treat her? I'm not a very, Josef."

"No, but you were a medic, and you have more experience in this sort of thing than I do. Audrey needs your help."

"So, wait, you're saying that panther is Audrey?" said Beth.

"Yes," said Josef looking between the two of them, and seeing that the ere still hopelessly confused, he looked over at Audrey. "Audrey, this wold probably be easier if we were all able to understand each other. It might be time for you to change back."

"Are you sure that she can understand you?" said Mick.

"Of course, she can, Mick." Josef said, explaining patiently. "Believe me, she can." he added, under his breath.

The panther was slightly reluctant to relinquish control to her human half. Her instincts were still skittish. She was still wounded, essentially trapped in a room with the two vampires that could attack her if they chose.

_If they had wanted to attack you, they would have done so by now._ She heard her human half pointing out. _Besides, after all you have seen from St. John, you honestly think that he would do anything like that in front of Beth?_

The were had acknowledge that her human was right. So, she submitted, and felt the change take hold of her body.

Beth and Mick had received several surprises that night, but none of them was able to compare when it came to witnessing the transformation of the panther before them into a human. It seemed to happen in slow motion, so they could see every detail. First, the tail began receding, as the thick, black fur which had been covering her skin was slowly overtaken by human skin. Her front and back limbs began to almost rearrange themselves, bones and muscle and tissue visibly change shape into human arms and legs. Paws were replaced by hands and feet; pointed ears soon vanished into the head itself, replaced by rapidly growing human hair.

It was the face that changed the last of all. The familiar features of Audrey emerged from the panther, save only the eyes which continued to glow a bright green, until all trace of the animal had vanished entirely. Only then did the eyes resume their gray color.

There, now lying on Josef's couch was not an injured black panther, but Audrey, wearing what appeared to be a tank top and sweat pants, with a long, deep gash from shoulder to elbow, the wound still oozing blood.

Audrey herself was more than a little worse for wear. Her body was stained with sweat, and drooping from exhaustion. Her hair was unkempt and tangled. Her eyes were still half wild, and she still seemed uncertain about her surroudings.

Both Mick and Beth had watched this entire transformation with open-mouthed astonishment. It took them over a minute to simply come to terms with what they had just witnessed. They than turned stupefied, questioning glances at Josef, who didn't seem in the least surprised by what he had just seen.

"Before you start bombarding me with questions, yes, I have seen that before. Yes, I knew it was going to happen. And yes, Audrey is not a human, or a vampire."

"Okay, thank you." said Mick, after another full minute had passed. "Than, what is she?"

"I would love to give you a biology lecture," said Audrey, who seemed to be regaining a bit more control of herself. "However, I happen to be bleeding out, and I would appreciate a little help."

Mick might have completely uncomprehending as to what was going on, but he never let something like that keep him from helping someone who needed it. "Right," he said, as he removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. "I'll see what I can do about that bite wound, but I expect a full explanation while I'm doing it."

"Fair enough." said Audrey, as she eyed Mick and Beth critically for a moment. "I suppose that you deserve that much." "

You'd better make yourself comfortable, Beth." said Josef, "You're about to find out a lot that you didn't even know existed an hour ago."

"All right, start talking." said Mick, once he had gotten the proper materials to treat Audrey's wound. "What exactly are you, Audrey? Though I think I might be able to guess."

Audrey winced as Mick began cleaning her shoulder, but she was still able to put a little snark into her response. "Go ahead, give me your best guess."

"Shape-shifter, of some kind." said Mick, "Though, I do have to admit that even after I became a vampire, I never saw any definitive evidence that something like you even existed."

"I'll take that as a compliment to my people's ability to hide in plain site. But you're right. I am shape-shifter, or to use the more proper expression, a were."

"Were?" said Beth, "You mean like werewolves?"

"Oh, there are a werewolves, of a sort." said Audrey, with a smirk. "But, considering how many types of other creatures there are in the world, why should canines have all the fun? It only makes sense that there would be more types of weres, doesn't it?"

Mick and Beth looked at each other, both realizing that Audrey did have a good point. "So, then you seem to have taken to the feline persuasion?" said Mick. Audrey nodded. "Then what exactly do you call yourself, a leopard or a panther."

"Officially, it's panther." said Audrey, "However, no one really knows how many types of weres there are. Some of us are quite common, while others are much rarer. Despite that, all weres do have one thing in common: the fact that from the moment we become a were, we are always bound by two identities, the human and the animal that we can become."

"So, when you're an animal, do you remember that you're still a human?" Beth asked, "Are you aware of each other? Who has more control, you or the animal?"

Audrey looked at Mick, who had finished cleaning the wound and was about to dress it. "Is she always this curious?"

"She can be even worse, sometimes." said Mick, with an affectionate smile at Beth. "It's one her best qualities."

"Well, Beth, I wish there were a simple way to answer all of your questions. However, it is a little difficult to explain if you've never experienced it. The best way to put it is that I have a second voice, a second spirit inside my mind that I am always aware of, even if it's only on a subconscious level sometimes."

"When you say a second voice, do you mean like a split personality?" said Mick.

"I wouldn't put it quite like that. You see, when I was first turned, the were has become an extension of my own personality. She can offer me a different kind of guidance than I might get if I were simply human. I'm not sure I would say it's a question of who controls who. More like it's a balance, a partnership. We are part of each other. The voice, the spirit of the were is so integral to who I am, that I can't imagine living without it."

"Wow!" said Josef, speaking up for the first time in the last few minutes, "You make it sound very spiritual and New Age."

Audrey's gaze went over to Josef, and she hissed at him in annoyance. "Josef, this is difficult enough to explain without your interjections of inflated ego, Josef."

"You should know that there is nothing inflated about my ego." smirked Josef, "You can attest to my brilliance for what, 60 years now?"

Beth and Mick both looked surprised, and looked from Josef to Audrey who rolled her eyes. "Yes, before you ask, weres are immortal, with a few exceptions. We are a bit easier to kill, though it has to be just the right wound in just the right place in order to do it."

"How old are you then?" asked Mick, as he finished dressing her shoulder.

"I will say that I am somewhere between 110 and 120. I do need to keep a few secrets to myself." said Audrey, with a smirk. She looked over the dressing, and said, "Thank you. I should be fully healed up by tomorrow."

"So, you can heal yourself quickly. Take it that's another gift of your supernatural condition?" said Mick. Audrey nodded. "What else if there?"

"It varies, depending on what sort of creature the were is. Since my were is a panther, I have a lot more stamina and grace than humans. My eyesight is better, especially at night. My sense of smell and hearing are also stronger, though I wouldn't be able to compete with you vampires."

"Still, you managed to take one of us out single-handily. I'd say that's pretty impressive." said Mick.

"And how does someone become a were." asked Beth, "Do you have any control over what sort of creature you become?"

"There really is no way to control what kind of creature the were is." said Audrey, "A great deal of that depends on things like personality and ability, not to mention a lot of complicated genetic talk that not even I'm fully clear on. A person can become a were one of two ways. They can be turned, and that process is pretty much similar to vampire turnings. More rarely, though, are those who are born as weres."

"Why is that rare?" Beth asked.

"Because in order for a were to be actually be born, their parents need to have weres which are genetically similar. For example, I myself could only have children with another feline, and even then the were of my partner would have to be closer to a panther than a lion. That being the case, weres who are born are considered to be precious, to be protected at all costs, which is why solving Eddy Moore's murder is so important to me."

"That's why Eddy was targeted, isn't it?" said Beth, "He was a were?"

Audrey nodded, disgust evident in her expression. "Yes, both he and his parents are an aquatic species. Hank will be one in a few years. He won't be able to begin changing until he hits puberty. Aquatics themselves are uncommon, and therefore more highly prized by hunters."

"They were looking for trophies." said Mick, with a horrified realization, "That's why Eddy's body was essentially butchered. That attack on the beach, it was a hit"

"Did you think that hunters merely targeted vampires?" said Audrey, with bitter humor. "For them, it is both a vocation and a sport. They wish to rid the world of our tainted presence and they see us as the very highest sport they could have. The trophies which they gather consist of body parts that are indicative of whatever species they were hunting. Eddy would have had the ability to hold his breath underwater, even being able to use echolocation in order to be extra aware of his surroundings."

"Guillermo said that a lot of the tissue missing was from Eddy's lungs and throat." said Mick.

"Yes, that's not surprising, unfortunately. Eddy would have had the ability to hold his breath underwater, even being able to use a sort of echolocation in order to get a better idea of his surroundings, even in the dark."

Beth and Mick were both sickened by this, but Mick was still confused on a major point that Audrey had not yet mentioned. "Here's what I don't get. From what I saw of Raquel, he seems to be the leader of this little posse. But he's human. And the vampire who attacked you must have been working for him. Why would humans and vampires work together to hunt your kind?"

Now it was Josef and Audrey's turn to exchange grim looks. "Mick," said Josef, "I'm afraid that it's not as entirely out of the realm of possibility as you would like to believe. Not only have I heard of vampires and humans who hunt weres, there are weres and humans who hunt vampires for the same reasons. It's part of why I was so reluctant to tell you about this. There's been a long and bloody history between the two groups for centuries.

"But why?" Mick asked, "It seems to me that the best chances for survival for both species would be to work together. And you two seem to get along all right."

Josef couldn't help but smile. "Oh, Mick. Even after all these decades, you still like to think that the rest of world should be able to listen to reason. True enough, Audrey and I get along all right, but that's taken years. Not a lot of vampires share your unique views. I wish that I could say why. All I can say for certain is that we're different, incredibly different. An unfortunately, being different has been enough to create violence on both sides for a long time."

"But, I never had any idea that were even existed until Audrey came to town." said Mick, "Even if you hadn't told me, I still should have seen or heard something."

"Well, there's a very simple explanation as to how you didn't know they existed, and therefore couldn't pick up on the signs." said Josef, "There are no weres in LA. Seeing as you've hung around here for the past 50 years, it actually makes sense that you never ran into one."

"That sounds incredibly definite." said Beth, "How can you be sure that there aren't any of these weres in Los Angeles?"

"Okay, there might be a few on the edges, but not nearly enough to constitute a full pack." said Josef, "See, we're found over the centuries that the best way to avoid conflict is for vampires and weres to live in separate cities. As an example, my territory is predominantly LA, and down south. However, as you go up to the north, weres have a few established packs in places like Napa and Monterrey. It's pretty much the same all across the United States."

"So, you're saying that vampires and weres can't live together, at all?" said Mick.

"They can." said Audrey, "Chicago, where I'm from is a shared city. It's also a city on the verge of collapse. Vampires and weres seem to be constantly at each others' throats, and despite our best efforts, we can't seem to get it to stop. Things haven't been helped by the recent death of the vampire Elder last month."

THAT AND THE CURRENT ALPHA IS AN IDIOT. Huffed her were.

Beth and Mick seemed to take a moment to process all that they heard. "I'm not going to lie." said Beth, "This is kind of a lot to take in."

Audrey smiled. "You're doing pretty well, I have to say. You've taken to the notion of vampires easily enough, so hopefully weres won't be to much of a stretch."

"You still should have told me, Josef." said Mick, "It would have made this whole thing easier."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Mick. I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure you didn't become caught up in something that you weren't able to handle."

"You can't blame Josef, entirely." said Audrey, "I was the one who was leery of letting you in on this. When I saw you at the morgue, Mick, I wasn't sure if you were one of the hunters. I knew that was a possibility and I probably overreacted. I apologize."

"I can't say I blame you." said Mick, "I might have done the same thing in your situation. But now that we know for sure that vampires are involved in this whole mess, I don't suppose you'd care for a little extra help?"

"I'd welcome it, actually." said Audrey, with a smile.

"Well, I'm so glad that we could all come to an understanding." said Josef,"I hope that we can all hold hands in a circle and sing Kum Bai Ya at some point, but that might have to wait till tomorrow. Mick, it looks like Blondie needs a little shut eye. It's past her bedtime."

"I'm not tired." said Beth, even though she had been struggling to hold back a yawn for several minutes now.

"I think you are tired." said Mick as he got to his feet, and went over to Beth.

"I think that we should reconvene tomorrow." said Josef, "Now that vampires are in this whole affair, even _I _want to know how we are proceeding."

"That actually sounds like a good idea." said Mick.

"Where are you going to stay?" said Beth, looking over at Audrey in concern. "I have a feeling that going back to the hotel will draw a lot of attention in our current state. Not to mention that Ben will want some sort of explanation as to where you tonight."

"I'll deal with Ben in the morning." said Audrey.

"And you're going to stay here tonight." said Josef, as though the matter were already completely settled.

"You're not going to ask me if I really want to stay here?" Audrey asked.

Josef rolled his eyes. "Why should I ask, we both know the answer?"

Audrey raised an eyebrow. "Do we?"

"Fine, do you want to stay here tonight?"

"Of course, I've got nowhere else to do."

Beth and Mick couldn't help but watch this exchange with mutually raised eyebrows. It would have been difficult to miss the fact that Josef sounded strangely light-hearted during this. Indeed, they couldn't help but notice that the two of them, despite their obvious differences of physiology, had developed an odd sense of trust and rapport. They both knew how difficult it was to gain Josef's respect, and yet, Audrey seemed to have it. There was a history there, and they couldn't help but wonder just how much they would have tried to deny it.

"All right, we'll leave you two to carry on, then." said Mick, with a slight smirk.

If Josef heard the slight innuendo in Mick's tone, he decided to ignore it. "See you tomorrow."

**Well, there you have it: some basic questions of this universe version of Moonlight have hopefully been answered. I hope that I made it somewhat interesting, as exposition is not always the easist thing to write. If there are any questions that people want answered, let me know when you drop a review. **

**Also, a brief side note. As I stated when I began this story, this is sort of an experiment. There might be a few details that have to ironed out mid-story in terms of presentation. To that end, in looking back over the last few chapters, I have not really liked the way I am portraying the voice of the were inside of Audrey's mind. I tried to do it in all caps because I wanted to differentiate it from the voice overs I have on occasion, which I have in Italics but I really don't like the way it looks. It just feels distracting, and just interrupts the flow of the story. From now on then, I will be using italics to portray both the voice overs and the were voice. I will try to make them distinct so as to avoid confusion, but I just feel that will make the story a bit more readable. Thanks for your patience. **

**Next chapter: We take a slight breather from the main story in order to focus on character development, or as we hopeless romantics call it, FLUFF! **


	11. Opposites Attract

**Here is a new chapter for Cat's Cradle. Admittedly, this is a bit of a character development for all involved, but every story needs a little bit of breathing space, not to mention a little bit of fluff. Enjoy!**

Opposites Attract:

Beth and Mick had both driven separately to Josef's house. But as Beth was really in no condition to drive at this hour, she left her car at the mansion, intending to pick it up tomorrow.

As they drove back to Mick's loft, Mick glanced over at Beth, "Are you okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, considering that we both just found out something pretty major, I want to be sure that you're processing it all right."

Beth took a deep breath, and said, "One year ago, I didn't know vampires existed, than I met you and my entire world changed. Now, I find out that there are shape-shfters running around, too. I'm kind of beginning to wonder just how many humans there are on the planet after all."

"Considering that it seems both were and vampires feel a need to hide their presence from humans, I think that you're all right."

"That's comforting." said Beth, lightly. "What about you? Are you sue that Coraline never told you that there were shape-shifters in the world along with vampires?"

"I'm afraid that Coraline had a hard enough time trying to teach me how to be a vampire. Trying to tell me all the rest of this might very well have been than I could have handled."

Beth made a sour face. Mick's ex-wife was still a touchy subject. Though she didn't at all blame Mick for anything Coraline had done, she still couldn't quite shake the feeling that they hadn't seen the last of Coraline Duvall, and she didn't like it.

Sensing Beth's discomfort and wanting to change the subject himself, Mick said, "In all honesty, though, it does explain a lot about Audrey. When I first met her, I sensed that there was something different about her. If she also thought that I was involved with Eddy's murder, that would explain a lot of her hostility."

"It also sounds like she's in unfamiliar territory." said Beth, thoughtfully, "From what she said, it seems like vampires and weres have some difficulty going along. If she felt that she was the only were in a city full of vampires, that also would make her defensive."

"I can't get over the idea that vampires and humans are actually teaming up over something like hunting another supernatural creature." said Mick.

"I know, it seems like something that would be counter to their interests." Beth agreed, "On the other hand, since when have hatred and prejudice ever made any sense?"

Mick took a moment to acknowledge this with a nod. "As it is, though, it really doesn't matter. Now that vampires have become involved in this, Josef is going to get nervous. We're going to have to be more careful than ever to make sure that Ben doesn't suspect the truth."

"Yeah, that will be interesting. Honestly, I'm surprised that Ben hasn't gotten more suspicious, what with how many cases he's worked that have involved vampires."

"You sure that he hasn't been acting out of the ordinary, even since Emma and Jackson Monaghan?" Beth shook her head, "No, I mean, he was asking a lot of questions at first, but for some reason, he's not mentioned it in awhile."

"Here's hoping it stays that way," said Mick, "It's not really to late to talk about that. Let's just focus on this crisis, right now?"

"There's always a crisis." said Beth, with a smirk, "Honestly, my life was so boring before I met you. I hardly know how I got by."

Mick returned with a smile, happy that Beth was always so willing to take the craziness of his world in stride. "It's going to be even more interesting when I finally got around to meeting your mom, again."

Beth held up a hand. "Hey, don't try and be funny. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm actually going to explain to my mom why I'm dating the guy who rescued me when I was a little girl."

"And here I thought that my days of meeting the in-laws were over." said Mick, ruefully.

They arrived at Mick's apartment building, and rode up to the loft. "What do you think about Audrey and Josef?" asked Beth, as they exited the elevator and went into the apartment. "I got the feeling that there was a spark between them."

"Honestly, so did I. Josef even admitted that he was attracted to her. But, you know how it can be with Josef when it comes to women, he tends to play things pretty close, I imagine especially after Sarah."

Beth grew sober at the mention of Josef's failed romance with the human woman, who was still in a coma nearly fifty years after the fact. Though Josef might have tried to cover it up under his playboy lifestyle and carefree attitude, they had both seen how he was still hurting from it. "My guess is that even if there is a feeling of attraction there, I doubt that Josef will allow himself to become involved." said Mick, "Now, I suggest that we should get you to bed, my dear."

"Promise you'll stay with me until I fall asleep." said Beth.

"Don't I always?" said Mick, smiling. He was constantly amazed at how much he was reminded of how much his life had changed in just a few short months. He had forgotten just how wonderful it was to feel life again.

* * *

At Josef's mansion, Audrey was trying to settle down and actually sleep a little before she had to face Talbot in the morning. Josef had been his usual helpful self in the matter. "Good for you I've got enough shirts that fit you." he said, as Audrey came out from the bathroom, holding the soiled clothing that she had been wearing when she had changed earlier. "If we hadn't been about the same size, you would have had to sleep naked."

"Are you sure that you're not just a little disappointed by that fact?" said Audrey, with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't have the slightest idea what you mean." said Josef, with a perfectly innocent expression.

"Of course, you don't." said Audrey, "You know as well as I do that you happen to know that weres losing all the clothes when they shift is actually a myth? You've done a lot worse to see women without clothes I'm sure."

"I appreciate the inherent beauty of the female form." said Josef, with his usual devil may care attitude. However, he became serious in the next moment and asked, "But seriously, you really think you can convince Talbot to go easier on this thing?"

"I believe so." said Audrey, "After all, he is going to be outnumbered."

"Really? You going to make Beth share some of the credit for you idea?"

"No, I was referring to my other half." said Audrey, with a smirk, "Talbot won't really be able to resist."

"You say that with a great deal of confidence." said Josef, "I wish that I could share that."

"Josef, have a little faith in me, when have I ever let you down?"

"Well, there was that time in '77." said Josef.

"You're only saying that because I accidentally wrecked your Dukati motorcycle in a chase through the streets of Cincinnati. That was hardly my fault, in case you remember."

"Perhaps, but you still stole it to go after some bad guy. At least, Mick tends to ask before he steals my stuff."

Audrey found herself becoming serious at the mention of Mick's name. "And about Mick, I have to admit that you were right about him. He is a far greater ally than a neutral by-stander. How do you think he'll take the news that vampires aren't the only supernatural creatures in the word?"

"Honestly, I think he'll adapt to it pretty quickly. Beth, too. Actually, especially her. She's a tough human and has done a lot to help the community."

"That's a very high compliment coming from you." said Audrey, who was well aware of Josef's chronic paranoia when it came to humans. "What did she do to ear your respect?"

"Mostly, she helped Mick. He hides it pretty well, but his first few decades as a vampire were rough. Beth was the one who gave him a sense of purpose."

Audrey stared at Josef for a long time, a genuinely surprised expression on his face. "You've really changed since the last time I saw you, Josef. I can't remember a time in our entire friendship when you've been so caring of another person."

With almost anyone else, Josef would have denied this insinuation with his usual cynical sarcasm. However, when Audrey brought this up, he actually appeared to be thoughtful. "You're right." he said, in a serious tone. "I have changed. I honestly don't know how it happened. But, both Mick and Beth, they've become very important to me."

"I'm glad." said Audrey, with a smile, "It's nice to see you showing a little vulnerability."

"Hey, hey, I wouldn't go that far." said Josef, "I still have a reputation to keep up."

"No one will hear it from me, I promise." said Audrey, "Well, I know it's mid-afternoon for you, but I need to get some sleep."

"Sure that you wouldn't mind some company?"

Audrey gave him a look. "You always ask me that, and you always get the same answer. Why are you so persistent?"

Josef shrugged. "You never know, one of these days you might say yes."

_You could say yes just once._ Her were piped up, unhelpfully. _It's not like you've ever had a vampire. It might be a nice change of pace_.

_Would you shut up and go to sleep?_asked Audrey, annoyed.

_Can't sleep until you sleep_.

Audrey shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Josef, good night."

"Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me." said Josef, as he headed for the door.

"By the way, Josef, thank you, for everything."

Josef paused in the doorway and looked back at her, a genuine smile on his face. "Anytime, Audrey, anytime."

* * *

**Thanks for reading. I continue to appreciate and enjoy the fact that people are still so interested in Moonlight even after all these years. On that note, I can say with some confidence that I am already starting to plan a squeal for Cat's Cradle, that will be up on this site early next year,hopefully. I don't want to give away to many details, as we still have a few twists coming up in this one, but suffice it to say that it will be expanding a lot more on the world of weres and vampires, as well as introducing new characters and enemies. For right now, please leave a review to tell me what you think of my work.  
**

**Next chapter: I have been dropping a lot of hints that Ben Talbot will become a main player in this universe. However, we don't seem to have seen a lot of him recently. Well, that's all about to change. As Audrey brings Ben in on the fact that Mick is on the case as well, there might be more than a few hints that Ben knows something, but whether or not that is a help or a hindrance to our vampire friends remains to be seen. **


	12. Planning and Convincing

**Well, here is the next chapter of Cat's Cradle. I am really enjoying the feedback which I am getting from this story. Thank you all so much for keeping this fandom alive. **

**Anyway, in this chapter, we get not only a little bit more insight into the backgrounds of some characters, but also that there might be some people who know more than they are willing to let on. Enjoy!**

Planning and Convincing:

The next morning, Mick and Beth came back to the mansion to do a little more planning as to what their next move should be. They found Audrey in the sitting room, eating some scrambled eggs, toast and orange juice. She appeared much better, both physically and mentally. As they came into the room, she smiled brightly and said, "Good morning, Mick, Beth. Please join me. Josef should be here in a few moments. He's talking with someone in Singapore about the shares in some stock market or other."

Just as she was speaking, Josef came into the room, finishing what appeared to be a very harried conversation with another person. As he hung up, Audrey raised an eyebrow. "You always this cheery in the morning, Josef?"

Josef shot her a glare, as he moved past to the refrigerator in the room, and took out a bottle of blood and two glasses. "This is past my bed time, I'll have you know."

"Mick seems fine." said Audrey, as Beth joined her, having gotten a plate with the eggs and some fruit. "Tell me, Beth, does he always look this fresh in morning when so many others of his kind are grumpy and morose?"

"No, he always looks that handsome and cool." said Beth, with a grin back in Mick's direction.

Mick seemed rather pleased with this compliment, but Josef just scowled. "I bet that you don't have to worry about Beth's lack of gratitude when you go out of your way to do something nice for her." he griped.

"Oh, god, not this again." said Audrey.

"What are you talking about?" Mick asked, as he accepted a glass of blood from Josef.

"Well, I happened to order some new clothes for Audrey here so that she wouldn't have to go all the way back to her hotel to change, and she rejected them without so much as trying them on."

"Josef, I told you, they were designer. What do yo think Ben would think if I waltzed into his office this morning wearing a Prada suit? I'm in law enforcement, Josef. I can't very well wear something that's three times my annual salary. I did accept the second set of clothes that you gave to me, so I don't know why you're complaining."

Mick and Beth both looked at Josef. "You got her clothes?" said Mick, "Do I want to ask how you know her size?"

"He's seen me naked before." said Audrey, as though it were a totally normal thing. "And before you ask, no, it wasn't last night."

"There you go again, ruining my reputation as a dashing ladies man." muttered Josef.

"I'm sure you'll recover." said Audrey, who had picked up on the comment with her keen hearing. "He happened to catch sight of me once when I turned into my human form. He said that he would never forget it. I still don't know whether that was meant to be an insult or not."

"So, if you turned back into a human naked then, why didn't you last night?" asked Beth, "Isn't that something which is supposed to happen with were-wolves, or panthers, or whatever you are?"

"It really all depends on the situation. I need to be in control of the initial turning. If I were to be caught by surprise during a fight, and I shifted into my panther form on pure instinct, I wouldn't be getting clothes when I turned back into a human. The fact that I can control that aspect for the most part has caught down on some rather embarrassing situations as I'm sure you can imagine."

"As fascinating as I'm sure this is supposed to be," said Josef, "we do have some more important things to discuss beyond biology."

This statement might very well have come from the fact that Josef felt deprived at not being the center of attention. However, none of them could deny the seriousness of the situation which they were now facing. It was time to do some serious planning as to what their next move should be.

"It seems to be that our biggest challenge is trying to shut these hunters down without alerting the police to the presence of vampires amongst their number." said Mick.

"I've got an idea: pick a likely target and firebomb it." Josef suggested, as though that were the most logical explanation to their problems.

All three of them gave Josef looks of disapproval. "Josef, this isn't a joke." said Beth.

"Don't you think I know that, Beth?" said Josef, "We've got humans and vampires working together to hunt down weres. These sorts of things never end well. Hunters don't stop once they move on to a new city. When they leave here, they'll just start killing weres in other cities, and then the secrecy on both sides is threatened."

"Look, both of you are right." said Audrey, holding up both of her hands in order to play peacekeeper. "I believe that we can work this problem out through official channels if we play our cards right."

"You sure?" Mick asked.

"I've dealt with situations like this before, Mick. I know how important it is to keep our secrets. What we have to do is cut off the head of this particular sect, meaning Raquel Welch himself. If we can do that, the rest of his vampire followers will scatter."

"What about the humans?" Beth asked, "I would imagine that at least some of them know about the vampires who are hunting with them. Won't they talk to the police if they're arrested?"

"As odd as it might sound, I doubt it. It's been my experience that hunters who know about vampires refuse to say anything if they arrested. It might be because of loyalty. Maybe they don't think anyone will believe them. More likely, it's because most hunters consider their... activities to be a sacred enterprise. They don't want anyone pursuing their prey who hasn't had the proper initiation and training, and that includes any form of law enforcement."

"So, you're telling me that they don't want the authorities to know about their little hunting parties because they don't want their trophies stolen?" said Mick.

"Yes, some even consider prison to be a badge of honor. They would gladly suffer a lifetime in prison rather than betray the cause they've been brainwashed to follow."

"If that's the case, then we should be able to use that to our advantage." said Beth, "If we could convince Ben to keep you on as this case, Mick, you could try to find out how many vampires Raquel has under his command. If we know that, at least we wouldn't be going in blind."

Mick and Josef exchanged looks. It was clear that neither of them particularly liked the idea of working closely with Ben Talbot again, though for probably very different reasons. Josef didn't like Mick, a vampire, working with a human who was already suspicious of. Mick, though he might have shared that sentiment, still didn't really like the fact that Ben seemed to be overly interested in Beth.

Beth, sensing that there was a lot of tension in the room, said, "Look, you two, we need to do a little creative thinking in this case. If Audrey can pull a few strings in order to get this case closed and get justice for Eddy Moore, I think we should do it."

"She's right. I know I can handle Ben Talbot." said Audrey, with a great deal of confidence. "And if we can get his resources on our side, along with Mick's investigative skills, I think that we can make this work."

There was a moment of silence, before both Mick and Josef, albeit reluctantly, nodded. "Fine," said Mick, "I don't have to like it, but I want justice as much as you do, Audrey. And I wouldn't mind getting my fangs on this Raquel Welch character."

"We might have to fight over who gets the privilege." said Audrey, with a smirk. "I've been tracking him for a long time. I've seen what he does to my kind. I've got a lot of payback to deliver."

"Then we'll have to see who gets to him first."

"I do like this bloodthirsty side of you, Mick." said Josef, with evident approval. "You should let it out more often."

"And you'll also cooperate?" said Audrey, looking pointedly at Josef.

"All right, all right, I'll follow your lead on this one." said Josef, finally throwing up his hands in surrender. "I just want to be kept abreast of what is going on."

"Did you think that I would be doing anything else?" asked Audrey.

"True enough." said Josef.

"You had better get going, you two." said Mick, gesturing to the clock on the wall. "My guess is that the quicker you can convince Talbot, the sooner we can get this case closed and these guys stopped."

"You're right." said Beth, as she went up to Mick and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll try calling you once we know something definite."

"If Talbot will even want me to help."

"Yo never know, Mick." said Audrey, as the two women exited the room. "Stranger things have been known to happen."

As they were left alone, Mick looked over at Josef, his eyebrows raised. "So, you mind telling me just what the deal is between you and Audrey is exactly?"

"I think that I already told you, Mick."

"No, actually you kind of left it a little vague. I do notice things, Josef, and if I'm not mistaken, the two of you seemed to be flirting with each other a few times last night and this morning. Yet, you also seem to trust her, which I know is a rare thing for you, especially for someone who is not a vampire. It seems that she is a lot more than just a contact for another group of supernatural creatures."

Josef took a deep breath, and his expression grew serious. "You know, Mick, there is a lot more to my history with Audrey. The truth is, I don't really want to get into it. And I don't want to because I'm deliberately keeping something from you, it's just really... personal, nothing that I don't feel comfortable getting into right now."

Mick allowed himself to accept this explanation after a moment of thought. He didn't want to be kept in the dark when he believed that it was something important, but he and Josef had always respected their own personal secrets. Mick got the feeling that Josef would tell him this part of the story when he was good and ready. "All right, if you don't want to tell me, I understand."

"Thanks, Mick." said Josef, who seemed genuinely relieved that Mick wasn't pushing this one. "I will say this. You were right when I say that I trust Audrey. To put it simply, she saved my life, in more ways than one. She was there for me when I really needed someone to look after me. Because of that, let's just say that I've been trying to repay her ever since."

When they arrived at the DA's office, though Beth stopped the car, neither of the two women seemed particularly anxious to enter the building. "I'm really not looking forward to this." said Beth, finally. "I like Ben, but I get the feeling he's not going to be thrilled that we went behind his back."

"I know how you feel." said Audrey, "Still, there's no reason for both of us to face the music. It was my idea, I'll be the one to tell him. Why don't you go and get a coffee? Hopefully, by the time you get back, I might have gained some headway."

"Yeah, might be for the best." said Beth, "There is one other thing that I wanted to ask you, Audrey, something a little personal, and you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

"What is it?"

"You're family, they were actually killed by hunters, weren't they?"

For a brief moment, Audrey's expression became deeply troubled, her gray eyes filled with both anger and sadness. The memory of what Beth wanted to know obviously caused her a great deal of pain. She was almost sorry that she asked it. However, Audrey said, "I think you probably have a right to know. Yes, my family was killed because of my... transformation, but they weren't weres. They didn't even know that I had become one."

"If that's the case, then why would the hunters even bother with them? From what you've told, the hunters try to pick their targets very carefully."

"They are. They don't like collateral damage. To many casualties can attract to much unwanted attention. However, the hunter who targeted my father and sister was an amateur, and he didn't know what he was doing. Someone told him about the existence of weres, and that someone in my family was most likely changing. He mistook the signs, and so believed it was them."

"How can you be so sure that?"

Again, Audrey was quiet. When she spoke her voice was quiet, almost strained. "I told you that my brother also died because of hunters. The truth is, he _was _the hunter. He killed members of his own family, but he made a mistake. He killed the ones who were innocent and left me alive, the person he was truly targeting. And when I found out what he had done, I... I was the one who killed him." She looked over at Beth, who had listened to this confession with shock and horror, though whether it was from the actions of her brother or what she had done to him, she really couldn't tell.

"I am not proud of what I did, Beth, and I have to live every day with the knowledge that I am responsible for the death of my family, whether directly or not. Weres are just as capable of being monsters as vampires are. I suppose it's part of the reason why I ended up pursuing this line of work. I want to try and make up for some of the things that I have done."

Beth was silent. She had listened to a lot of confessions over the past year. She had heard things from Mick that were both painful and disturbing, lives which he had taken and mistakes which he had made which resulted in innocent people getting hurt. She did not like hearing those stories. It was never easy to listen to them. However, she had learned an important lesson: she was not in a position to judge. Yes, maybe Audrey had been wrong, just as Mick had been wrong. They had both done awful things, and yet, they both realized that. They had to live with a burden of guilt every day that she could not even begin to imagine. They did not need her own censure added to that. The best which she could do was try to understand, and understanding could sometimes go a long way.

"I think that I understand a little bit more about who you are." Beth finally said, trying to convey in that statement that while she maybe did not condone Audrey's actions, neither did she condemn them.

Audrey had honestly not expected understanding of all things from Beth. She wouldn't have blamed the human if she were a little wary of her after such a confession. She smiled a little at her, and said, "You know, Josef said that you were a remarkable human. I can see now that he wasn't wrong."

There was another moment of silence, before Audrey took a deep breath and attempted to dispel, at least a little bit, the somber mood. "Well, no sense in putting this off any longer. Wish me luck."

"All right, good luck." said Beth, as Audrey got out of the car and headed into the office.

Beth ordered a coffee from the stand outside the DA's office. She then waited for about ten minutes before following Audrey, hoping that a suitable amount of time had passed. When she came into the office proper, she saw through the glass windows of Ben's office that he ad Audrey were still in the middle of a heated discussion. Ben didn't look very happy. Audrey, however, seemed far from defeated. Beth could only hope that meant that she was winning him over.

Beth sat down at her desk, and pretended to be busy, though that was difficult to feign when she was looking into Ben's office every ten seconds and trying to figure what was being said. However, it might have been for the best that she was unable hear the majority of the conversation, as it might very well have made her very confused.

"Audrey, I can't believe that you brought Mick St. John into this." Ben was saying angrily, "You might have jeopardized this entire case. Do you honestly think that bringing in the help of an amateur is going to stand up in court, or in any other official capacity?"

"Ben, I know how you feel about these sorts of circumstances, but believe me, it was necessary. The case has turned out to be far more complicated than even I anticipated, as I have just told you. Don't you think, given the unique circumstances that St. John's expertise might be of use?"

Ben sat back in his seat, and his look was still skeptical. "I can handle this, Audrey. We both can. This isn't the first time that either of us have faced a situation like this."

"Perhaps, but it's always the best course of action to make use of all the resources that you have, and St. John is a valuable resource. We shouldn't just throw him away. I've looked up the case files that he's worked with you on, Ben. He's been of a help than a hindrance to you. I know that you don't like working with someone who is independent, who operates outside of the rules, but even I cannot help but wonder if there is something more to your dislike of St. John than even that."

Ben didn't answer right away. It seemed as though he was trying to find some sort of logical answer, but was coming up short. "I just... don't trust him. Can't we leave it there?"

Audrey's expression grew serious, and she gazed hard at Ben. She was looking not only with her own eyes, but with those of her were as well. They both knew that there was something more to all of this than Ben was letting on, something which he was clearly reluctant to tell her. "Ben, we are running out of time. The hunters will be moving on in the next few days if they can't get anymore targets. They could vanish, again. Is that what you want?"

"No, of course not." snapped Ben, fiercely, "You know how much this case means to me. I want to stop these hunters as much as you do, Audrey. Do you think that I want to see more children like Eddy Moore harmed, before they even have a chance to experience the world in a way most ordinary people can't even dream of?"

"If that's really what you want, than you should be willing to do whatever it takes, including letting Mick St. John help us."

Ben looked at her, and for a brief moment, almost to quick to see, there was a stirring of something in his eyes, a slight shaking of his head, as though he were trying to overcome an instinct which ran so deep that he was unable to fight it, however hard he might have liked to. "Are you making this an order?"

Audrey stared at him, her gaze unwavering. There was a strange light in the gray depths of her eyes, one of unbreakable strength and command, one which would have been enough to sway others of her kind to do whatever she wanted if she enforced it enough. However, she was not putting it's full force upon Ben, as she was still hopeful that he would make the right decision. "Don't force me to make it one." she said, quietly and intensely.

For a long, silent moment, Ben and Audrey stared each other down. But it was ultimately Ben who relented, though she could tell it was with a great deal of reluctance. His eyes briefly moved away from hers', bowing his head in a sign of assent. However, he still looked back up at her, and the expression on his face showed clearly that he was not accepting this deal with any sort of meekness. "I just hope that you are not making a mistake by putting trust in St. John."

_He was never the easiest one to command_. Her were observed.

_Considering where he has come from, does that honestly surprise you?_ She questioned, _Besides, I am not trying to command him, I am only trying to get him to see sense._

_Of course, go ahead and keep telling yourself that._ Her were said. _Just promise me that you'll remember that alpha streak the next time Noah thinks he can control you. _

Audrey winced and growled, _Stop bringing that up._

"Audrey, are you all right?" Ben asked, suddenly breaking into her thoughts, "You seemed to have wandered there for a moment."

"Sorry." said Audrey, "It was kind of a long night. I just got a little bit distracted."

Ben looked at her doubtfully, but didn't say anything. Instead, he motioned out the office windows to where Beth was sitting at her desk, pretending to be intently busy about something when she was obviously waiting for some sort of verdict on their meeting. "Come on, let's not keep Beth in suspense any longer."

As the two of them came out of the office, Beth looked up anxiously, still uncertain as to how the meeting had ultimately gone. "So, Beth, Audrey here has been telling me about some of the work which Mick has been doing on this case?"

"Uh, yes." said Beth, who could tell that Ben was still intensely skeptical.

"Since he's done some of the legwork without attracting attention, I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea to keep him on for now. I don't suppose you would be willing to give him a call and ask him if he could come down here?"

Beth stared at Ben in complete surprise. She glanced at Audrey, who merely shrugged and shook her head. She then looked back at Ben, for a moment at a loss for words that Audrey had actually managed to convince him. "Oh, of course. I can call him right now, if you want me to."

"Great." said Ben, "Let's get this over with."

**Hmm, so it does appear as though Ben might know a little more than he is letting on. Just how much that will come back to bite more than a few people in the neck (forgive the pun) remains to be seen. **

**For right now, please leave a review and tell me what you think. **

**Next chapter: Another flashback chapter into Audrey's dark past. The first time that she ever shed human blood was blood closely related to her own. It was a deed that would haunt her for the rest of her life. **


	13. Fratricide

**Hi there, everyone. I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season. I'm afraid that I was a little busy myself, so I really couldn't find time to update. Hopefully, this will make up for that. This chapter is a little dark, as the chapter title might tip you off. One thing that I want to show off is some of the risk of becoming a were, just as there is a risk in becoming a vampire. I don't know if I should say enjoy, but I hope that it will continue to give you a little insight into Audrey's character. **

* * *

Fratricide:

_Audrey's POV:_

_Despite what our two species might think, weres and vampires have a great deal more in common than we would like to believe. A great deal of those similarities can come when we are first turned from humans into something else. The Changing, as weres call it, is both a time of vivid wonder and intense terror. Senses become enhanced, a new voice speaks in our head, sometimes so loudly that we can become deaf to anyone else, and we experience the world in a way that we never could have dreamed before._

_It is a delicate time, and like a sire for a fledgeling vampire, a were's Changer is essential to making sure that they make the transition smoothly. If not, than the consequences can be devastating. My turning itself was smooth, but the aftermath was almost the death of me, quite literally._

* * *

**Washington DC, 1884**

It was night in the woods a few miles outside of Washington DC. A low mist was rolling around the trees, and the slight sliver of a moon cast a strange half light across the scene. However, it was not enough to stop the man who was running through the forest. Nicholas was exhausted, but he didn't dare stop running, because he was also terrified.

He didn't even know when he had started running. He only knew that something was pursuing him, a creature bent on his destruction. However, he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to keep up the pace. He could already feel his strength beginning to fade. The muscles in his legs were burning, his lungs were straining to bring in enough oxygen. At this rate, he would most likely have to stop running and try to worry about hiding, if that were at all possible.

He was finally forced to stop in a clearing. His hands on his knees, as he fought to regain his breath, and tried to force his limbs to stop shaking from the fear and adrenaline which was racing through his veins. He also was trying to listen for any signs that he was still being pursued by that unseen force. He could hear nothing, though. Indeed, the woods around him were erriely silent and still. He wasn't comforted by that. With the fog and the hap-hazard moonlight illuminating false shadows, he only felt as though the entire scene were even more ominous.

A twig snapped in the bushes behind him. He gasped, whirling around to meet whatever monstrosity had made the noise. To his surprise, he saw nothing, but his sister, Audrey. Her face was half hidden in shadow. She was standing completely still, just staring at Nicholas, coolly and without saying a word.

"Audrey, Audrey, what are you doing here?" said Nicholas, "You have to get out of here. Run! There is... something out there, in the woods. I don't know what it is, but it's something dangerous."

But Audrey made no move to run. Indeed, she cocked her head, and though he could not see her well, Nicholas could have sworn that he saw her eyes flash with a deadly amusement. Up until this moment, Nicholas had feared for her safety. He hadn't known what was out there in the woods, but he had not wanted Audrey to become it's next target. However, a sense of logic was slowly beginning to return to him, especially as she remained still and unafraid.

"Wait, Audrey, what _are_ you doing here? How did you know that I would even be out this far from the city? What's going on?"

It was only then, that Audrey spoke. "You killed them, Nicholas. You killed them both. Our father and our sister, you murdered them, in cold blood." Her tone was calm, but Nicholas could not miss the seething rage which sharply undercut her words. His confusion had been turning to fear over the last few minutes, and Audrey's next words caused shivers of dread to skate down his spine. "No one will believe me if I say you killed them. I can't go to the authorities. So I just decided that I could take care of you myself."

Nicholas backed up a few steps. There was clear vengeance and utter conviction in his sister's eyes. It would have been useless to try and deny what he had done. Yet, he still didn't completely understand. "How did you know that?" He shook his head and held up his hands, his tone pleading. "Listen to me, Audrey, please. I know what you must be thinking, but I had to do it. You have to understand, father and Theresa, they weren't human anymore, and eventually they would have turned on us. They were dangerous."

He wanted to explain to her what they had become, how he had wanted to protect them both, as the hunters had taught him. He was certain that she wouldn't believe him, but that didn't mean that he wasn't going to try and make her understand. However, to his surprise, Audrey showed no signs of disbelief in her face. If anything, his excuse only seemed to make her angrier.

Audrey snarled, the sound ripping from her throat was not human. When she spoke, her voice was pitched lower than Nicholas had ever heard it. "You made a deadly mistake, Nicholas. You have no idea what you have done. It's true, one of us is no longer human, but it wasn't them. It was me."

With that, the silhouette of his sister stepped forward fully into the moonlight which was now flooding the clearing. Nicholas gasped in horror when he saw her face. Her eyes were glowing a bright,emerald green. Her lips were pulled back in cold growl, and he could see the sharp teeth in her mouth. The way she moved was lithe and graceful, more so than any human should have been able to do, especially in a forest in the deep of night.

Nicholas took a step back. His face had grown white with terror, and in his eyes, there flashed a moment of intense guilt and horror. It seemed as though when he saw Audrey's transformation, he realized the error that he had made. Audrey stared at him, completely still. She didn't know whether it was the fact that she was a predator that she had picked up this little trick of intimidation. To stare at another person, without moving a muscle, staring at another person as though they were the only thing in the world, could be incredibly unsettling.

_Make him afraid._ Her were purred. _He needs to know how your father and sister felt when he destroyed them. _

_He is already afraid._ She responded, in her own mind. Getting used to that second voice in her head had not been easy. She often disagreed with the actions which her were suggest that she take. But right now, she could not agree more with what her were wanted. _He'll understand what it means to cross a were before the night is over. _

However, though Audrey might have awakened Nicholas' fear, she had not done the same with his conscious. As she continued staring at him, she saw his expression change from horrified and guilt-ridden, to deadly and enraged.

"Audrey, how could you do this? How could you force me to do this?" he asked, his tone accusatory and filled with a new hatred. "You're the one who killed our family, Audrey. _You_ turned your backs on us. _You're_ the monster, not me."

"You have the gall to call me a monster?" snarled Audrey, "You were willing to kill your own blood simply to prove yourself to your new circle of friends. It didn't matter whether it was me or them, just so long as you had a trophy to take back to them."

"I was only trying to protect you, to protect us. But, now I can see that you never even deserved that protection. You turned your back on us, and they paid the price. This is on your head, Audrey, not mine. You're not my family, anymore. And, now I'm going to kill you so that you can never bring this sort of suffering upon anyone else."

With those words, Audrey lost any semblance of control that she might have had. Not that she had that much control to begin with. She had started out hunting her brother, and once a hunt was started, there could be only one outcome. Enraged, she roared out, her cry echoing through the silent forest. The next moment, she leaped for Nicholas.

Nicholas barely managed to dodge out of the way of her pounce, which only served to anger her more. She turned, her reflexes nearly twice as fast as that of a normal human. She turned back to Nicholas, her glowing green eyes blazing with rage. She let loose a dark growl, her lips pulling back from her teeth. She lunged at Nicholas once again, swiping at him with her hands, the ends of which were now outfitted with sharp claws. Though he once again managed to avoid the brunt of her strike, her claws still sank into his flesh, leaving oozing trails of blood in their wake.

Nicholas cried out in pain, his hand moving to cover the flow of blood. He was at a distinct disadvantage, he knew. He was alone, in the middle of the woods, miles from anyone who might be able to hear him cry for help and he was unarmed. The only training that he had to rely on was the minimal amount which the hunters had given him when they first inducted him into their ranks. However, that had only been for dodging and weaving minor attacks. This was a full on assault.

Still, he did his best to stay out of Audrey's way. But, Audrey was simply to fast for him. She would be right in front of him one moment, only to vanish into seemingly thin air and turn up in the corner of his vision, forcing him to duck once more out of the way. It was a cat and mouse game, and it could only end one way.

Nicholas' best chance for survival would be if Audrey had remained in her human form. But instinct as hard to fight, especially in a were so newly turned. In the heat of danger and combat, it was next to impossible to keep from phasing. Almost before she herself was completely aware of it, Audrey felt her form shift and change. The human woman who had showed such disturbing signs of cat-like grace and senses, finally found their fullest extent in the panther which now stood before Nicholas. Black as night and with murder in it's glowing eyes, Nicholas knew that he finished.

With a blood-thirsty snarl, the panther leaped forward, connecting with his chest and forcing him to the ground. Nicholas only had time for one brief strangled cry, before her vice-like jaws closed around his throat.

If her brother had been trying to plead for mercy, the red haze over her eyes and the roaring of blood in her ears made it impossible for her to hear it. She only wanted to kill and maim. She wanted to wipe from the earth all signs of her enemy. She tore at his body, ripping him apart with his teeth and claws. It was not just her were which wanted his blood; her human side, nearly buried in the mind of the were, also wanted him to suffer. The dark sides of both her natures were now ruling her every action, and she was not fully aware of just how close she to succumbing completely to the madness.

However, in the midst of this blood frenzy, another voice besides that of her were suddenly burned through her mind. _Audrey, stop!_

The voice was noble, deep and commanding. It's tones held the strength of many years, more years than any human would ever see. Indeed, the voice itself did not sound entirely human. It held the sound of the forest in autumn, sunlight shining through the trees and mighty thunder in the midst of a storm. As some weres grew older, their voices could actually begin to take on the very sound of the environment in which they lived. And this were had lived at one with the forest for a very long time.

From out of the shadows of the forest, a mighty stag seemed to materialize from the very mists. It was dark brown in color, it's underbelly a creamy white. A massive crown of horns adorned it's head, lending it an even greater degree of dignity and strength. It's darkly glowing eyes were filled with deep wisdom. As he gazed upon Audrey and the body of her brother, his gaze held disappointment, but also compassion and worry.

_Audrey, what have you done?_

In the natural order of things, the panther would have been the predator of the deer. However, the very moment that the stag appeared, Audrey immediately froze. The very sight of the stag caused her blood lust to immediately vanish. Sanity speared through her like a cold wind. For the first time, she became aware of what she had just done.

She stared at her brother, whose face and body were nearly unrecognizable. There were claw marks raked down his back, his face was shredded and bite marks had torn chunks of flesh from his shoulders and stomach. Blood was pooling on the ground. The smell hit Audrey like a straight punch to the gut. And then she realized that she didn't just smell the blood. She could taste it. It was all over her face, her paws, her body. She felt nauseated, sick.

Ever since she had been turned, she hadn't regretted her choice. Now, she realized the consequences of her own actions. She had killed her own brother, and a part of her had enjoyed it. It didn't matter that he had been guilty of the same crime. She should have been better than this. But she hadn't been able to control herself. As she looked from the body, to the unwavering stare of her Changer, she knew there was nothing she could say that would be able to explain what she had done.

She hung her head, unable to look her Changer in the eyes any longer. _We have become the monster that our monster said we were_. She didn't really know who said that in her mind, whether it was her were or her human side. But it didn't matter. Her changed nature had made it possible for her to do this, a thing which she would never have done if she had been fully human.

Yet, even as she struggled with the guilt and self-disgust which she was feeling, the stag came up and nuzzled the side of her face gently with it's soft nose. _You are not a monster, Audrey. At least, you cannot let this define you. You will move on from this, you must. It was why I chose you, because I knew that you were capable of bearing this gift, and the burdens which come from it. _

Audrey hung her head, and whined, visibly chastened by the stag's words and her own actions. The stag lifted it's head and glanced around the forest. He sniffed, and his ears flicked in multiple directions, trying to detect if their were any humans within the vicinity. _Your actions might very well have moved my plans for our departure forward. There are no humans nearby, but they will find his body eventually, and when they identify him, they will begin to ask questions. We must go, and we have a long journey ahead of us._

Audrey acknowledged this forlornly. She had been fighting him on this for the last few months. As her appearance and abilities began to be noticed and questioned, she needed to move on, in order to keep her family and her secret safe. Now, though, she had no words of protest to give. There was no one to protect her at home now. Her family was dead, and it was all her fault.

_Audrey, come._ said the stag, his tone gentle, yet so forceful that she was not able to fight against it, even if she had wanted to. _It's time to begin anew._

The stag vanished into the mists of the forest. And the panther, pausing for only a brief second to glance at the body of her brother, followed.

* * *

_Audrey's POV:_

_It took me decades to move past what I had done that night. Even now, it can still haunt me how easily I allowed my darker instincts to control my actions. Sometimes, I still wake up with the sound of Nicholas' last gasps of breath in my ears. I can taste the blood in my mouth. More than anything, I can still remember the sickening joy of killing someone. _

_Animal instinct and human intelligence become meshed during the process of becoming a were, one becomes indistinguishable from the other, and both become essential to survival. It is when those two things become tainted by darkness that the danger of madness threatens to overtake us. I didn't understand that inherent danger of being a were until that night. And it is a lesson which I have never forgotten._

* * *

**Please, read and review. Hopefully, will have a new chapter up soon. **


	14. Scouting

**Hi there, Moonlight readers. Sorry for the long update. The muse decided to take a trip. It's back now, however, and I hope that this chapter will make up for it. Please enjoy. **

Scouting:

Mick had been hoping that he would be hearing something from Beth or Audrey about getting through to Ben. However, he had also not necessarily been expecting that they would be able to achieve success. Despite the fact that they had worked together over the last few months, there was still a great deal of underlying tension and mistrust on both sides. If Ben couldn't see some sort of usefulness to his presence on the case, he would be adamant about keeping him away.

For about two hours after Beth and Audrey had left Josef's mansion, Mick waited at his apartment. When his phone rang with an incoming message from Beth, he wasn't entirely sure what to expect when he answered. "Well, what did Talbot say?" he asked.

"I don't know how she did it, Mick." said Beth, "But Audrey somehow managed to convince Ben to let you finish the case."

Mick was floored. "What? She did? How?"

"Like I said, I have no idea. When I went in, the two were having an intense conversation in Ben's office. I was certain that he would come out of there saying no. He wants to see you at the office right away. You'd better get over here before he changes his mind."

Mick couldn't really argue with Beth's statement. He somehow managed to make it to the DA's office in record time. As he came in, he saw Talbot, Audrey and Beth speaking in low voices in his office. When they saw him enter, Ben seemed to have a resigned sigh, and motioned for Mick to come in. As he entered the office, Ben closed the door firmly behind him. He then turned to address Mick. "Look, Mr. St John, I'm not going to sugarcoat the fact that I don't like having you here."

"I understand." said Mick, who could probably understand Ben's frustration from a purely professional point of view.

"I'm also not entirely thrilled about how you came to be on this case." He case a significant glance in Audrey's direction, though he didn't seem to include Beth in the unspoken accusation. "However, as you have proved useful in the past, and in talking it over with Audrey, there might be something you could do for us. I should warn you, it could be dangerous."

"I can handle dangerous," said Mick, "especially since you're willing to give me a lead."

Ben went over to his laptop. He turned the screen around, showing them various satellite pictures of what appeared to be a run-down area of southern Los Angeles. "According to our reports, Kevin Dalton, or as he was really called, Jack Forester, was killed in a car accident yesterday night. There were high levels of alcohol found in his system. That's believed to be the cause of death."

"So, we lose our best lead because of a drunk driving incident, wonderful." said Audrey. Mick had to give her credit for looking completely frustrated by this news. Of course she knew the real reason that Dalton had died, but she was acting as though this was an unwelcome bit of news that she had just learned a few more minutes before.

"Though I can share your disappointment, Audrey, we do have another solution. That's where you come in, Mick. Thanks to your little eavesdropping on Dalton and Welch a few days ago (and they told me about that, by the way), the information that you were able to obtain on the make, model and license number of the car helped us to track it through traffic cameras. Apparently, it was parked only a few blocks from the hospital where Eddy is recovering last night."

"Why would they be there?" Beth asked, who was also doing a pretty good job of acting as though she herself didn't know what had passed the night before.

"I don't know." said Ben, "Maybe they didn't want to run the risk of having an eye witness who could identify them later on and they felt a need to try and take Eddy out."

"I wouldn't put it past this particular group to try something like that." said Audrey, "They have tried before in my dealings with them. I'm just grateful that they didn't succeed this time."

"As far as we can tell, they never even left the car." said Ben, "But, it proved useful for our investigation. That's how we were able to track the car to this neighborhood." He pointed to several of the pictures that were on the screen. "They're most likely holed up in one these houses, though we weren't able to get a location on the exact one."

"I've been down in that area a few times." said Mick, "It's a rough neighborhood. Drug houses, squatters, though as long as you mind your own business and don't bother anyone else, you can become practically invisible."

"An ideal place to hide in plain sight." Audrey concurred.

"That's where you come in, Mick. I want you to see if you can find which house they're operating from. I would send in my own men, but the people who live in that neighborhood can smell a cop a mile away, even if he is in plain clothes. You might be able to get past their radar." He looked over at Audrey. "I want you to go as well, Audrey. I have a feeling that this is something that you and Mick are both good at."

Audrey looked at Mick. "What do you say, Mick, you up for me tagging along?"

"Even if he didn't, it wouldn't matter." said Ben, firmly, "I'm not sending either of you in alone."

"This shouldn't be a problem." said Mick, quickly. He and Audrey had worked past their initial animosity. In this instance, maybe her own unique abilities would help them more than just himself.

"I suppose now is as good a time to go as any."

"That's what I was hoping you would say." said Ben, "I want to try and get these people before they slip through our fingers again."

Now that he was actually getting a good look and smell at Ben, Mick could see that the human was running himself ragged. His heartbeat was faster, most likely from anxiety and worry. He was paler than normal, and his eyes showed signs of lack of sleep. This case was clearly eating away at the DA, and he was desperate enough to solve it to bring Mick into it. Mick could respect the risk that Ben was taking by trusting him with this. He still may not have liked Ben all that much, but he could still respect him for taking his job seriously.

"I won't disappoint you, Ben." he said, "I promise."

"I hope so." said Ben, in a tone that clearly expected results. "Let me know as soon as you have something."

It was clearly a dismissal. Beth, Audrey and Mick quickly exited the office. "Well, that certainly could have gone worse." said Beth, "He may not have been exactly polite, but at least he didn't throw you out."

"All the same, I think I can understand some of his reservations." Mick said, "If I was him, I would probably feel the same way."

"Are you going to be all right, out there?" Beth asked, concern evident in her face. "It's pretty warm out there right now, and it's only going to get hotter."

"Don't worry. I brought some blood along with me, just in case, and I'll stick to the shade as much as possible."

"Besides, we might be able to work this to our advantage." said Audrey, "If there are any more vampires working on Welch's crew, they should hopefully be asleep at this time of the day."

"Hopefully?" Beth echoed, looking more than a little uncertain.

"Beth, I'll look out for him, okay?" said Audrey, with a reassuring smile. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Josef would kill me if I let anything happen to him. Come on, Mick, we're wasting daylight."

She headed for the door, as Mick took Beth's hand and squeezed it. "Beth, I'll be careful. I promise."

Beth squeezed his hand back. She still worried about him sometimes, even if he was essentially indestructible. "Don't try to do anything to stupid, all right"

"I'll try, Beth." He leaned in to kiss her cheek, before hurriedly catching up with Audrey. It was time to do a little scouting.

* * *

A few moments later, Mick and Audrey were driving through the streets of Los Angeles in Mick's car. "Mick, are you all right with me riding shot-gun on this?" Audrey asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Just that you and I didn't really get off on the right foot. I just wanted to be sure that the air was clear between us."

"I won't deny that. But, we're both on the same page now. I'll be honest, though, I've still got a few questions."

"Yeah, you and Beth together. Well, we've got some time. So, what do you want to know?"

"Obviously, you're not controlled by a full moon. What exactly does control your turnings?"

"Some of the same things that can trigger you to start acting more like a vampire than a human. Strong emotions, like rage or fear can cause us to turn before we can control it. Other times, we have the capability of channeling certain aspects of our animal form while we're still human."

"Which is why you're eyes were glowing last night when you turned back?" Audrey nodded. "Good to know, I guess. What about silver? That's supposed to be as poisonous to were-wolves as it is to vampires, but since you're kind doesn't appear to be exclusive to wolves, is that even true?"

"It's true, in a manner of speaking. Silver can kill us, if it's pure enough and concentrated, like a silver bullet. However, silver in a distilled form actually represents a far greater danger. It can actually dampen our were form, making us susceptible to... suggestion."

Mick looked at her. "You mean, silver can make you mind controlled?"

"Yes, and from what I've heard, it's a very unpleasant sensation. I don't know if I can really explain why it happens, a lot to do with psychology and the nature of weres having two different sides to them, that if one is taken away, the balance is upset. As I say, it's never happened to me, but it can be dangerous, even deadly. I've heard of some cases where those who went through it never fully recovered."

Mick nodded, filing this information away for future thought. "There is one final thing I wanted to ask you. It's kind of personal, so don't answer if you feel you don't want to."

"I think that I can already guess it." said Audrey, "Do we weres have a taste for human flesh or blood like in all the stories? Well, that's a difficult thing to explain. We're not like you vampires, Mick. We don't need human blood to survive. However, that doesn't mean that we never allow our darker natures to get the better of us. Especially for predators like me, our instincts can sometimes inspire us to turn to other forms of prey. Unfortunately, I have known some of my kind to develop a taste for humans. Those individuals are targeted and destroyed."

"I see." said Mick, "You've certainly given me a lot to chew on."

"Glad I could help." said Audrey, "I would ask you some hard questions about vampires, but I already know quite a bit about your kind."

"And here I thought that we were mysterious." said Mick, with a smile, glad to have some levity after the heavy conversation.

Audrey returned the smile, before she looked out the window, and her expression grew serious. "I think we're here."

Mick realized that they had indeed arrived in the neighborhood that Ben had directed them to. It did indeed look like a rough and abandoned neighborhood, with houses that appeared to have been vacant and lifeless for years. Mick parked his car, and the two of them got out. They both looked around them, smelling the air with their enhanced senses and trying to determine if they could feel any sort of presence in the houses or yards around them.

"I can't smell anyone in any of these houses." said Mick, "They must be further into the area."

Audrey nodded. "I would maybe put a vote on that house right up there." She pointed a little ways off, to a house that was perched on a low hill over the rest of the neighborhood. It was set apart from the rest of the houses with a large yard that almost resembled a field. There were large clusters of trees all around the yard, and neither of them could really make out anything definite beyond that thick screen.

"I think that we should start there." said Mick, assessing the surroundings. "There should be enough cover in those trees to keep us hidden."

"Maybe, but I want to be sure on my end." She looked over at him. "Would you mind if I phased? I'll be able to process my surroundings easier in terrain like this."

Mick wasn't sure if he was at used to seeing Audrey changing, but he would need her in top form. "If you think you'll be better able to get an idea of things, go ahead."

Audrey nodded, and closed her eyes. For a few seconds, there seemed to be no change in her form. But then, her skin began to recede, thick black fur taking it's place. She began to shrink in size, her body doubling over to stand on all fours, her hands fusing into paws. Her head grew more angular in appearance, the human features melting away into those of the black panther which Mick had been from the night before, complete with the glowing, green eyes and the sensitive twitching ears. The whole process took less than a minute, and there standing before Mick, was a slightly larger than normal black panther.

Audrey shook herself slightly, then looked up a Mick, cocking her head to the side. She was clearly ready. "All right," said Mick, who was still trying to get used to the idea of speaking to an animal, even one who could apparently understand him, "Stay close to me, all right? I would rather not have to go searching for you if things go bad."

The panther nodded, and the together, the vampire and the were-panther, began to move in on the house. As they got closer, they were able to discern that the house itself appeared to be a great older than some of the other houses in the neighborhood. The windows were boarded up, the faded green paint was cracked and peeling, and there just seemed to be a a general air of abandonment about the building which seemed to have been around a great deal longer than before it's present occupant had arrived, and would be there long after they left.

And there were people in that house. As they approached, being careful to stay to the sheltering protection of the trees, they could see that the house and field were occupied by a group of at least a dozen hunters. There were two hunters outside the house, a man and a woman, who appeared to be keeping watch. Others, they saw through the shattered windows of the house itself, or lounging around the yard. Even those who seemed to be relaxing had some sort of weapon attached to them, and another larger gun close at hand. These were people who were clearly prepared for anything and would be able to deal with any threat which they saw coming.

As Mick and Audrey watched them for a few minutes, with Mick taking notes as to the numbers and positions of the guards, he glanced over at Audrey. She was crouched low to the ground, with her tail swinging back and fourth in agitation. Her eyes were pinned back against her head, and the burning gaze of anger and hatred which she beamed down at the hunters almost made Mick half-wonder how the humans couldn't feel it. "Those are all hunters that you recognize, yes?" he asked.

Audrey nodded. "But you're not smelling any vampires, either?" She looked at him, and shook her head. "Yeah, neither can I. That is one good thing for us, right now at least. But, I would still like to know where those vampires might be holed up. Any assault on this place will have to take them out first."

Audrey made a slight growling sound, as though agreeing with him. "Let's try and get a closer look at this place." said Mick, "There has to be something which we're missing."

They edged around the property, being careful to keep to the shadows and treading as quietly as they could. Mick couldn't help but be impressed with Audrey. Her tread on the ground was nearly noiseless, and she seemed to instinctively avoid any broken leaves or twigs on the ground. She was almost as good as he was.

They finally came to the back of the property. It much resembled the front, in that there was a large expanse of dried grass, and little scrub trees bordering the edge of the lawn. However, there was only one guard on duty in this area. As they came closer, they were able to see that he was standing beside what appeared to be a large door in the ground at his feet, which Mick assumed led to some sort of underground cellar. This guard was more heavily armed than the others which they had seen, and he was also more definitely on edge. Though he kept a weather eye on the terrain surrounding him, he also occasionally glanced down at the door in the ground. Whenever he did so, Mick heard a sharp spike in the man's heartbeat, a clear indication that he was nervous, perhaps even afraid.

He glanced over at Audrey, and noticed that her head was cocked to the side, as though she herself were studying the man intently. "For some reason, I get the feeling that he is more afraid of what's inside that cellar than what could come at him from the outside."

Audrey made a growling noise in response. "I would have to make a guess that's where the vampires are camped down during the day." He inhaled slightly, but he could only get the barest hint of a vampire scent from this distance. "I can't get a read on the numbers I'm afraid. But that cellar can't be to large, and there can't be to many of them if they only have one guard watching them. My best guess would be five, but that's only a rough estimate. Let's hope that I'm erring on the side of caution, and counting low."

Audrey seemed to agree with him. They did a little bit more scouting of the general area, getting an idea for the layout of the compound. Once they had felt that they had a good idea of that, they both seemed to agree wordlessly that now was the time to leave. The noon-day sun was hot, and Mick was beginning to feel light-headed and woozy. As for Audrey herself, the heat didn't seem to be bothering her so much as the flies which were buzzing all around her face and body.

Unfortunately, some of the hunters who had been off-duty when they arrived had moved down to the tree-line for some impromptu target practice, forcing Mick and Audrey to take the more risky route around the house itself. As they were doing so, they both stopped when they heard voices coming from the window above them. There were two men speaking, and one of them had the distinctive voice of Raquel Welch. Vampire and were both stopped, and stood as still as they could, straining their ears to make out what was being said.

"So, it's confirmed," they heard Welch saying, "Both Dalton and Anthony are dead."

"I'm afraid so, sir." said his lieutenant. "Victoria was driving the car, and she waited for at least two hours at the assigned rendezvous site. However, Anthony never returned. As we received word this morning that Dalton himself was killed in that drunk driving accident, I can only assume that means Anthony himself was discovered and stopped."

Welch sighed, and his next words were tinged with an almost bitter regret; it seemed as though he was genuinely moved by the news of his lost hunter. "Kevin Dalton I could care less about. He served his purpose, and I always thought that he would be to weak to be effective to us in the long run. But Anthony was one of our best hunters. It will be heard to replace his special skill set, be it human or vampire."

"Who would have been able to overcome him, though?"

"You've only been a part of this group for awhile, Lester. I know that there is someone our trail. There happens to be an agent of the FBI who is particularly persistent when it comes to stopping our work. Her name is Audrey Starre, and she is secretly a were. I thought that we might be hearing from her on at some point on this hunt; to much time has passed since the last time we crossed paths. If she has managed to overcome Anthony, she is closer to us than I would like. Lester, I believe that we've spent long enough in LA. Spread the word among the rest. I want us all to be out of here within two days."

"Yes, sir."

Mick and Audrey looked at each other. Mick could see that Audrey's eyes were glowing even brighter, and her entire body was trembling with a suppressed urge to jump through the open window and draw some blood. However, she seemed to be in control of herself for the most part. "I think that we've heard enough." said Mick, in a voice that was to low for the humans inside the house to hear, but which could be picked up by Audrey in her were form. "I'd say that we should try and get out of here before we're spotted."

Audrey seemed to think that this was wise, as she nodded her head. The two of them left the compound of the hunters as stealthily as they had come, eventually making it back to Mick's car with seemingly no one having spotted them. "We might very well have come in the nick of time." said Mick, as Audrey changed back into her human form (with all of her clothing from previously still in tact).

"Yes, thank goodness." said Audrey, as the two of them got into Mick's car, and he began driving back to the DA's office. "You should probably give Josef a call before we get back. He needs to bring in your city's Cleaners in on this. We need to hit that compound before Ben puts together his own plan and the hunters leave."

"That's going to take some creative timing." said Mick, as he took out his cell phone.

"I know." Said Audrey, in agreement, as she took out her own cell phone to call Ben, "Let's just hope that this time, we can be more creative than they are."

* * *

**So, it seems that the seeds are being sown for the final conflict. I hope that everyone enjoyed seeing Mick and Audrey in action together. It won't be the last time they come to each other's bid before this story is finished. **

**Also, I want to let everyone know that I have decided to turn this into a new series. I have really enjoyed returning to the world of Moonlight, and am excited about expanding the mythology of the series, along with my own ideas. I am still in the planning stages for this new story, but here are a few definite sneak peeks for what to expect: 1) The story will be set in the Windy City, Chicago. We have heard from Audrey just how on edge things are in that city, and a trip by our LA heroes to that city will make it clear that vampire/were relations are not an easy thing to balance. Count on a lot of action, subterfuge and danger before the adventure is over. 2) I will be introducing a few members of Josef's family. The trip to Chicago is something of a family reunion for him, as his sire and a fellow sibling are introduced. 3) Both vampire and were politics are going to be explored. World building is one of my favorite parts of any story, so I hope that I can do it well. **

**Anyway, that will be coming out as soon as soon as Cat's Cradle is over. For right now, please tell me what you think of this story. Thanks for reading. **


	15. Planning

Planning:

As it turned out, Ben was already planing on a raid for dawn the next day. The vampires only had a few hours to plan how to take down the hunter' compound. Josef was not necessarily happy that he needed to call on the Cleaners on such short notice, but they had little choice. If the authorities were to find even the slightest evidence of vampires amongst the hunters, questions would be asked that there would be no easy answers to.

They met at the mansion only about an hour after Mick and Audrey's scouting mission. Christine Harrison, one of the head Cleaners of Los Angeles, was there, along with a good ten of her associates. If they were going to take out Raquel and his crew, they were going to need all of the help which they could get. When Josef introduced Audrey as a were, Christine only seemed to express slight surprise, though the look which she cast in her direction couldn't exactly be described as friendly.

Mick detailed everything which they had seen at the compound, including where he believed the vampires were taking shelter during the day. "If we're going to take them out, we need to get to them first." said Mick, "That means getting past the guards that Welch has stationed out front and possibly any other hunters that might be around as well."

"You mentioned that the cellar itself is quite a distance from the house, with only one guard." said Christine, as she studied the photos and rough map that Mick had drawn out. "That being the case, we might be able to take care of the vampires down there before anyone even saw us coming."

"I was thinking the same thing." said Mick, "Since the majority of Welch's crew appears to be human, I don't think that they'll be prepared for a full frontal assault of vampires, not to mention that they don't seem to have enough people to handle such situation anyway."

"Sounds to me like your planning a surprise attack which is also a diversion." said Josef.

"That would probably work best of all." said Audrey, "One group attacks the front of the house, drawing out most of the humans into a firefight that they won't be able to win."

"While another group sneaks around back and fire bombs that cellar before the vampires have a chance to get themselves topside and join the fight." Mick finished.

"Do we have the fire power to take out five vampires all at once?" Josef asked Christine.

Christine took a moment to consider this. "I believe so. We take a few fire bombs with us, throw them into the door, and let nature take it's course. Not exactly elegant, but it will be efficient." She looked over at Audrey, "And if you don't mind me asking, where will Agent Starre be in all of this? My people are going to be busy, and I'm afraid that I won't be able to spare anyone to babysit her if she's going to be tagging along."

"Of course, I'm going to be there." said Audrey, "I've followed this group of hunters for years. At the moment that they're going to be taken down, you don't think that I _wouldn't_ be there, do you? And besides, what makes you think that I can't take care of myself?"

"She can do pretty well against us, Christine." said Mick, "I saw her take down one of those vampires on Welch's crew. Didn't even flinch when she took his head off."

"But that was only against one vampire, Mick." said Christine, "If this thing goes south, we could have a battle on our hands, and I don't want to have to be responsible for a wild card were-panther who thinks that she knows the business of the Cleaners as well as we do."

"Christine, that's enough." Josef said, "I won't have Audrey talked about like that. She is more than competent-"

"No, no, Josef. Let Cleaner Harrison have her say. I don't want her to feel like she can't speak her mind. " She looked over at Christine. "Go ahead, speak your piece. Don't worry about insulting me. I'm sure that I've heard it all before."

Christine appeared to be taken aback by Audrey's words, spoken with far more respect than she had shown up until now. For a moment, it seemed as though she didn't know how to react, and perhaps whatever she had been planning to say in retaliation no longer seemed appropriate. For the first time since she had arrived, she actually spoke directly to Audrey herself rather than just referring to her in vague terms to the other vampires in the room.

"With all due respect, I must express my doubts about working with you."

"I'm sorry. I was not aware of the fact that my presence was disagreeable to you."

"Spare me the act, Agent Starre. I think we both know that this is not an easy situation for either of us. I've only heard vague rumors about your kind, Agent Starre. For a long time, I doubted whether or not they were even true. However, I do know that for the most part, you weres are hostile to the presence of vampires."

"That is true, unfortunately." said Audrey, "I've seen the hostility at work on both sides in my home town of Chicago. However, I've also seen the Cleaners in action there. They've earned my respect. I can assure you that I have no wish to interfere in your plan of action. I'll stay out of the way. You know the best way to fight your own kind."

"But you'll still be there?"

"Yes, I will." said Audrey, with an unshakable conviction. Her gray eyes became tinged with a glowing green, and her voice developed the strange intonation of a slight growl. "I have been hunting this sect for a very long time. I want to be there to when you take them down. If you get ahold of Raquel Welch, I want him."

Christine looked long and hard at Audrey, and a flicker of respect flashed in her eyes. "It sounds as though you have a personal score to settle with this Welch guy."

"Him and everyone who follows him." said Audrey, "If it makes any difference, Raquel is a human, so there shouldn't be any problem with me killing him."

"No, I don't think so, when you put it like that." said Christine, with a smile, "However, I wouldn't mind having an extra pair of eyes on you, all the same."

"That's your right, I suppose." She looked over at Mick. "Why don't you volunteer, Mick. That way, Miss Harrison over here won't have to lose one of her people."

Mick nodded. "If that's the best compromise we can come up with, then yes, that's fine with me."

"Well, I'm glad to see that everyone is getting along so well." said Josef, with a slightly impatient frown. "However, time is wasting. We only have a few hours until sundown in order to put this plan into action, and I would rather it get done sooner rather than later."

They all had their assignments, and so they quickly scattered to complete them. Josef had his arms crossed, and it was clear that he was tense and anxious. His paranoia was running very high, and this time, there might actually have been a good reason for this. He glanced over at Audrey, who seemed to be mirroring his posture. "I really wish that we had more time on this, Audrey."

"I'm sorry, Josef. I did the best I could with what I had to work with. You should be grateful that Ben is planning on a dawn raid. I've known him to be able to put together big operations like this in only a few hours."

"Gee, thanks, you're making me feel so much better." He looked over at Mick. "You think that we've got a chance on this, Mick?"

"As good a chance as I think we can create." said Mick, "The one thing which we have in our favor is that there probably aren't that many vampires to deal with. If we can take them out, the rest of the humans shouldn't be a problem."

Josef sighed and rubbed his face with one of his hands. "I guess I'll have to try and take come comfort in that. I wouldn't be trusting this with anyone else but you two."

"Wow, look at you being all sentimental." said Mick, with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood.

Josef rolled his eyes, and looked at Mick with mock annoyance. "So, make sure that you don't disappoint me."

Before Mick or Audrey could respond, Mick's phone rang. "It's Beth." he said, after checking the ID. "I'd better answer, or she won't leave me alone."

Josef waved at Mick to answer. "You do your thing, Mick. Just try to make it quick. We still have a lot to get through."

Mick moved off a few feet from the two of them and answered the call. "Beth, is everything all right over there? Do you have anything new for us?"

"Only that Ben is still antsy." said Beth, "I'm trying to cover for Audrey's absence, but it's not entirely easy. I feel like I'm running around with my head cut off."

"You can handle it, Beth. I have confidence in you."

"I'm glad to hear that somebody does. How are things on your end? Do you even have a plan?"

"We have the basic structure of a plan, and I think, if nothing goes wrong tonight, we might be able to actually succeed." He explained to her what the group had come with in order to dispose of the hunters once and for all. "If we play all of our cards right, there shouldn't be anything which will trace back to the existence of vampires or weres for Ben and his team to find."

There was a long pause on Beth's end of the line. When she did speak, her voice was tinged with worry. "Mick, I need to know, so just tell me. Are you going to be there tonight?"

Mick knew that he could only tell Beth the truth. He highly doubted that she would believe any sort of lie that he could come up with. "Yes, Beth. I will be there. I won't be in the direct line of fire, I hope. Audrey agreed to stay out of the main fight, and Christine said that she would be more comfortable if I was there to keep an eye on her. I don't think our Head Cleaner really knows what to make of the presence of a were."

"Well, there's not a lot about this situation which is exactly normal, for any of us." Beth said, trying to lighten the suddenly heavy mood, without much success.

She didn't need to say what the real issue was, they both were aware of the unspoken tension in their relationship. It had been present from the start, and had only grown more acute when the situation with Emma Monaghan had forced Mick to shut out Beth from his vampire world. They didn't like being reminded of it; they rarely spoke of it. However, sometimes, there could be no denying that there was still a part of Mick's like that Beth could not share so long as she remained human. It was an obstacle that they both knew wouldn't go away, yet neither of them knew the way to overcome it, or if they did, they didn't want to think about it.

Beth knew that there was very little she could do to help Mick or Audrey at this point. She was just the human on the side-lines. She knew that didn't Mick love her any less because of it, but for someone as self-sufficient and stubborn as Beth, the idea of being unable to help those she was closest to was something she hated having to endure.

At last, Beth broke the silence, with resigned acceptance. "Fine, good luck. And Mick, please be careful."

"I will, Beth. I promise."

The awkward moment between them was suddenly interrupted by Josef, who had been unashamedly listening in on the conversation. "Hey, Mick, ask Beth when she gets off work."

"Beth, hold on." Mick glared over at Josef, both annoyed and relieved that Josef had felt the need to butt in yet again. "Josef, why should you want to know when Beth is finished working for the day?"

Josef ignored Mick's tone. "Tell her to come over to the mansion. I'll keep her company."

Mick stared at Josef, trying to quell the sudden feeling of suspicion that he felt in the pit of his stomach at this suggestion. "You want to spend the evening with _my_ girlfriend?"

"Hey, lay off on the possessive, alpha male routine, buddy. It really doesn't suit you. I was merely thinking that Beth might like a little bit of company tonight instead of wandering around your apartment worrying and moping about whether or not you're going to come back in one piece. Don't worry, I'll be a perfect gentleman."

"Somehow, I don't get the idea that your idea of a 'perfect gentleman' is the same as mine."

"Mick, is that Josef?" Beth asked, "What's he saying?"

Mick suppressed the urge to groan and turned his attention back to Beth. "Beth, Josef is inviting you to spend the evening with him. He apparently thinks you'll turn suicidal if your on own tonight."

"Beth, I did not say that." said Josef, indignantly.

"Would you mind telling him that I accept." said Beth, "I would like to have someone else to talk to who knows what's going on."

"All right, I'll tell him." said Mick, "Bye, Beth. I love you."

"I know. I love you, too."

Mick hung up and glared at Josef, who was making no attempt to hide how pleased he was with himself. He held up a warning finger in Josef's direction and said, "You... you keep your hands to yourself tonight, and no snide comments."

"Right, Mick, of course, whatever you say. You'll see, Beth will have nothing to complain about."

* * *

Beth arrived at Josef's mansion just as the sun was starting to set over the horizon. Josef met her at the door, and he was his usual charming self. "Beth, great to see you. Glad you could manage to get away from your boss in order to grace me with your company this evening."

Despite being tired and worried from the stresses of the last few days, Beth couldn't help but smile at Josef's manner. He might not have made her heart pound like Mick did, but in the last few months, she had learned just how difficult it was to resist Josef's charms. The man was a sheer force personality that was nearly impossible to not be moved by. Beth really was curious as to whether Josef had always been that way, or if it was simply that he had had plenty of practice.

"Thanks for inviting me, Josef. I could really use a bit of a distraction."

"And if there is one thing which I'm good at, it's being a distraction. Come on, dinner is waiting."

"Dinner?" said Beth, stopping in her tracks with wide eyes, "You mean, like actual food?"

"Well, of course I meant actual food. Unless you've suddenly developed an interest in cannibalism and want to chow down on some of my freshies, which I would advise against as I happen to be pretty protective."

"No, I just... didn't know that you even had food here?"

"Beth, first of all, I might be a vampire, but I also have human employees who work here, to say nothing of my freshies, all of whom need to be fed. Second of all, for someone in my status, having a star chef is a sign of prestige. I make it a point to hire the best and the brightest for everything. And he's prepared a rather delectable feast for you, if I do say so myself."

"Oh, I see." said Beth, who had never really thought about it like that before. "In that case, show me to this feast."

"It would be my pleasure."

Beth found that the meal was as good as Josef's word. Josef's chef had prepared an exquisite lasagna, paired perfectly with vegetables and wine. The chocolate mousse cake as the dessert was probably one of the most heavenly creations which Beth had ever experienced. She was grateful for the fact that Josef didn't partake of his own normal fare, as Mick had told her that Josef enjoyed feeding live, and often in a rather brazenly open manner. She had seen what that consisted of with Simone, and she still really didn't really feel comfortable with the whole idea of it. Josef merely drank the bottled variety of blood that evening, as well as the wine.

Beth found Josef to be a surprisingly entertaining dining companion. While she was eating, he told her more than a few stories of his colorful past, most of which Beth was fairly certain were more than a little embellished. Still, since they funny, and kept her mind off of what Mick might have been doing at the moment, she really wasn't going to call him out on it.

Once Beth was finished eating, the two of them went out onto the veranda. A fire was burning in the pit beside the pool. The view of the valley before them was breathtaking, with the bright lights of the city reflecting a dozen different colors. Some of those lights were moving, as the cars rushed home along the various streets.

"I can see how someone could get used to a view like this." said Beth, after a few minutes. "You've done pretty well for yourself, Josef."

"Well, it's easy to do that when you've got a few centuries to learn the tricks of the trade." He leaned back in his deck chair and looked closely at Beth. She found herself shifting uncomfortably a little; his unblinking stare made her feel terribly exposed. "I've also learned a few things about human behavior, however much I might try to hide it. Is there anything you would like to tell me, Beth?"

"Can I confide in you, Josef, confidentially?"

"Of course, Beth. You should know that I am the soul of discretion." She shot him a skeptical look. "Okay, fine. I can exploit secrets when I feel a need to. But, if there is something you want to get off your chest, which you don't want Mick to know, you can trust me not to breath a word of what we say tonight."

Beth opened her mouth, fully ready to deny what Josef was suggesting. However, she realized before she even said it just how useless that would be. "It's not that Mick and I are having problems together. We're happy."

"I'll say you are. You only have to walk into a warm and Mick seems to lighten up. You've been good for him, Beth. I mean that sincerely. I can't begin to tell you how deeply I despaired that would ever happen."

Beth acknowledged this with a little smile, before continuing. "But, the truth is, I don't like feeling powerless. There's very little I can do for Mick in situations like that. I mean, here I sit drinking wine in a safe place while he's running around a hunter-infested compound doing who knows what."

"You'll notice that I'm not running around that hunter-infested compound with him. What does that make you think of me?"

"That's different. You have the ability to help, but you just don't need to use it."

"So, you think I'm a coward. That makes me feel better."

"No, that's not..." Beth took a deep breath, and another drink. She was starting to feel a little flustered. That was another thing Josef was very good at doing. She was learning to see why Mick could sometimes find it a little annoying. "You don't involve yourself the same way that Mick does. You basically work behind the scenes, you plan everything, and then sit back and watch it all pan out. You like the cloak and dagger thing a whole lot more than Mick does. Both ways are valid, and I respect you for that."

"Thanks for the compliment." said Josef, "But, it seems that you don't like not even being able to have a choice?"

Beth shook her head. "No, I don't. I don't like not being able to help Mick. He's a vampire, and as long as I'm a human, I won't be his equal, no matter what I do. I sometimes get so frustrated, but I don't want to tell Mick, because I know that he might start blaming himself for something that he has no control over." All of these things had been bundled up inside Beth for so long, that once she finally let them out, the words themselves came out in a rush. She paused to catch her breath, trying to gather herself together. "I just... don't know what I'm supposed to do. I can't ignore this, but I also don't really know how I could ever bring it up with Mick.

Josef listened to this entire speech with an attentiveness which even Beth hadn't been expecting. Once she had finished, his reply was delivered with a serous thoughtfulness that she didn't normally think could come from him. "You know, Beth, you're probably right to feel this way. I wish I could say these vampire-human relationships are easy, but they aren't. Despite that, though, you're still here. That counts for a lot more than you might think. Most people I've seen in same situation don't even get halfway to what you and Mick have. And honestly, I think that if you can stick around for the not so good moments like these, then you'll be able to more fully enjoy the great times when they do come around."

"That still doesn't tell me how I should bring this up with Mick. We are going to have to talk about it eventually."

"Unfortunately, I don't have the answer for you there. You and Mick are going to have to come up with your own system for dealing with that. However, if it's any consolation, you're probably not that different from a lot of couples. You've got things to work out between you, because you're two very different people, and most of the time, that takes years to figure out. That's all part of the journey, or so I've been told, at least."

"But, what if Mick and I don't have that many years?"

Josef look at her closely. "Ah, there's another problem. I take it you and Mick haven't really discussed the issue of turning."

Beth shook her head. "No. I mean, I don't think I'm ready to seriously consider that yet. Mick would never turn me anyway."

"I've also heard Mick swear up and down that he would never let himself be involved with a human, either, so don't sell him to short. Again, if I may offer some elderly wisdom: in my experience, time is all relative. You shouldn't feel a need to force the issue on yourself or him. You might find that you waste whatever time you could have had."

Now it was Beth's turn to look curiously at Josef. His eyes had grown distant and sad, and there was an almost unconscious bitterness and self-reproach in his tone that she couldn't help but miss. "Is... is that what happened with you and Sarah?"

She knew that broaching the subject of Sarah with Josef was difficult. She was almost afraid that he wouldn't answer her, and abruptly change the subject to something completely different. However, after a long moment, Josef actually did answer her. "Sometimes, I think so. I don't think that I was ready, and neither was she. Maybe we would have come to that moment, but we rushed it. Because of that, Sarah has been in limbo for the last fifty years, and... I haven't been able to let her go."

The look on Josef's face was one of intense sadness, and Beth found herself incredibly touched by his honesty and frankness. She knew that Josef never really opened himself up like this. It was only to the people that he really trusted. The fact that he was doing so with her right now made her realize just how far she must have come in Josef's estimation.

Reaching out, she put a hand on his arm. Josef looked down at the hand, and she felt him tense up ever so slightly. Evidently, he was not used to such displays of friendship. However, he also didn't pull away, yet another action which was as unexpected, as it was touching. "I'll take into consideration what you've told me tonight, Josef. And thank you, you've become a very good friend over the past few months."

Josef looked up into her face, and gave her a genuine smile. "Well, it's the least I can do. You probably saved my best friend. And you're a remarkable human, Beth. Wherever this thing with Mick goes, I look forward to seeing where it goes."

"And I hope that one day you can find someone like Sarah again. You know, you shouldn't let one failure, however traumatic it might have been, keep you from finding your own happiness."

"Now look who's being the wise one. I know your right, Beth. But, I've honestly see to much over the last four hundred years. I don't think that I can let myself feel that again."

"Well, if you ever need any advice, just let me know. I'll be glad to repay the favor."

Josef's smile grew wider, and he raised his glass to her in a salute, which she returned. "I'll remember that, Beth, I'll remember that."

**I just wanted to take a moment before the big, final boss fight to explore a little bit of the friendship between Josef and Beth. I like to think that if the series had continued, we would have seen something like this develop between them. Let's face it, Beth would have needed some advice about vampire-human relationships, and I think that Josef would have been a good sounding board for her worries. However, since we only have the one series to go on, it falls to us writers to make things like this happen. **

**Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this latest entry of Cat's Cradle. Please leave a review to tell me how I'm doing. **

**Next chapter: the final confrontation between hunter and hunted is finally joined. However, which creature has which role is always open to interpretation, and the definition of monster is not always obvious. **


	16. Elimination

**Another chapter up. I got inspired for these last few chapters, and I am looking forward to wrapping this up in a neat little package, while still leaving room open for a sequel. Hope that you enjoy this latest installment of Cat's Cradle. **

Elimination:

The moon had been on the wane the night of Eddy Moore's murder. When Audrey had undertaken her hunt of Kevin Dalton, the moon had been only a pale sliver of light against the dark sky. And on the night when the hunters would find themselves becoming the hunted, the moon had vanished completely. It was dark, silent and still.

Though preparations had begun for the evacuation from Los Angeles, none of the hunters, least of all the vampires who were just starting to awake in the underground cellar as the final rays of the sun vanished over the eastern horizon, were thinking that they needed be on guard a potential attack.

They were wrong.

The first wave came when several black shapes seemed to materialize out of nowhere. They descended on the cellar like a literal shadow of death, the human on guard being taken completely by surprise. He wasn't even able to lift his weapon into a firing position or call out a warning to the main house, before a vampire broke his neck.

The vampires in the cellar were aware that there was danger above them. However, the same thick ground and concrete of the cellar which had blacked Mick's senses on his scouting mission, also kept those vampires from having a clear idea of what was going on on the surface above them. They had no idea how many people were attacking or how they might have been armed.

It was those few moments of indecision and uncertainty that sealed their fate. Immediately, the cellar door was forced open, and two cylinders were thrown into the room. Upon impacting the ground, an inferno of flames and smoke blazed into being, consuming everything in the immediate area, including the vampires who were still shaking off the final dregs of sleep.

One threat had been effectively eliminated. However, the eruption of fire and light in the middle of the field couldn't be hidden. The Cleaners who were attacking the cellar knew that they their presence wasn't a secret anymore. The hunters would know that the compound was under attack.

Before long, the field which surrounded the main house of the compound was thronged with yelling and shouting, shots fired and blows landed. The hunters themselves, seemed to put up a good fight, more so than what even the Cleaners might have been expecting. But, the hunters also soon found themselves swept into a pincer movement, as more vampires rushed in from the front of the compound. It was now not so much a matter of if they would be able to win, but only a matter of when. One by one, the vampires would pick off the human hunters, until there was none left.

In the trees that surrounded the compound, Mick and Audrey in her panther form were observing the conflict. As Audrey had promised, she was staying out of the fight, letting the Cleaners handle what was essentially their area of expertise. Mick was there to presumably make sure that she kept up her end of the bargain, but they both knew at this point that that was hardly necessary.

They were also keeping a sharp look out for any hunters who might be trying to slip through the chaos of the battle and escape into the woods. Josef had made it clear that he wanted to wipe the slate entirely clean. He didn't want any survivors from the hunters to target more supernatural creatures, be they vampire or were.

For his own part, Mick felt some mixed feelings as he watched the fight taking place. He understood why Josef wanted to prevent anymore hunters from carrying out their plans of violence. He also did not for a moment believe that the hunters, vampire and human alike, deserved anything but death for the lives which they had taken. That didn't necessarily mean he enjoyed having to witness it.

He looked over at Audrey, who was watching the battle with an intensity that was almost all consuming. She seemed to be keeping track of every hunter who fell, and ticking that name off in her mind with a brutal efficiency. He wasn't sure if he could say she was enjoying it anymore than he was, but the feelings seemed different. Much like Josef, she seemed to regard the elimination of the hunters dispassionately. They were a threat, and they needed to be taken care of. It was as simple as that

"At this rate, I can't see any of them lasting much longer." said Mick, finally.

_I should hope not_. Audrey observed, even if she knew that Mick wouldn't be able to understand her in so many words.

"I'm not picking up any scent of vampire." said Mick, inhaling slightly, "Those fire bombs must have their work. I would still like to make sure that none of the humans try to get away. Maybe we should do a quick sweep of the rest of the compound, let the Cleaners know if we find any trails."

_Good idea. _Audrey agreed, nodding her head. She headed off in the opposite direction that Mick was standing.

"So, are we splitting up?"

Audrey paused, and looked around at him. _The fight is starting to wind down. Any trails which are left from those who run will fade quickly. We must make sure that we know where they are heading._

Mick couldn't probably understand what Audrey was implying. However, he did see the stubborn look in her eyes, the same look that Beth sometimes got whenever he told her to remain behind in a particularly dangerous situation. "Fine, but remember, don't try and go after these hunters on your own. They might be fewer in number, but even in their weakened state, they'll still know how to hurt you. And don't be gone for anymore than ten minutes."

Audrey rolled her eyes. _Yes, Mick. I'll be back as soon as I can._

Mick disappeared into the darkness, and Audrey turned, heading in the opposite direction. She kept to the shadows of the treeline, being careful not to reveal her presence. Her ten minutes were almost up, and she was not coming across any trail. But, just when she was going to head back to meet Mick, her nostrils were hit with a scent which didn't seem to fit in with the rest of her surroundings.

Her head went down, and she sniffed a feet around her. It was the scent of a human, smelling strongly of smoke and blood, though whether that blood was human or vampire, she couldn't tell.

_Someone is out there._ She could hear her human side warning her, _They must be close by_. _You should retreat, head back to Mick._

For a brief second, the panther hesitated, her natural hunter instinct reluctant to simply let this fugitive go. She wanted to hunt him down, to make him suffer for all that he had done. She sensed that he was indeed close, close enough to be within her grasp. If she could only try to sneak up on them it might...

_Will you stop being so stuck on your hunt, and let someone else take care of it?_ Hissed her human side, impatiently. _We don't have time for this_.

The panther snarled slightly in response, but before she could respond, she suddenly heard a snapping twig off to her right. Her head whipped around, trying to peer into the darkness in the direction of the threat. But, it was to late. A piercing agony suddenly slammed into her right, front shoulder. Her were screamed, her cry of pain tearing through the night. Her leg gave out from underneath her, and she could already feel the blood pulling beneath her.

Panic set in, as she recognized the burning feeling which she had experienced more than a few times before. The bullet had been made of silver. She could already feel the bullet rendering her right leg paralyzed and numb. She couldn't move the limb, or change back. Her instincts were telling her to flee, hide, anything to get out of sight. She was no good to anyone if she couldn't fight. She was effectively trapped.

Her instincts warned her a slight second before the next bullet whizzed out of the darkness, she barely managed to dodge out of the way, feeling the wind of the bullet as it swept past her.

Turning her head in the direction which the bullet had come, she saw Raquel Welch stepping out of the darkness. There was a gash across his forehead, and he was covered with dirt and grime. Unfortunately, however, he didn't appear to be on death's door. He was aiming a shot gun at her, and there was a smug, satisfied smile on his face. "Well, this is a most unexpected meeting, though I cannot say that I am entirely displeased by it."

Audrey's ears fell flat on her head. She backed away from Welch, finding herself trapped by an overgrown thicket of trees and bushes. She growled at Welch, the combined hatred of both human and animal flaring in her brightly glowing eyes.

"Now, now, none of that, please." chided Welch, "Surely, we've moved beyond mere pleasantries, Audrey. That is you, isn't it? I can never tell at first glace, you weres always look the same."

Audrey made no move to acknowledge this, trying to strike out at Welch with her one good leg, but her balance was off, and Welch was more than able to side-step her claws. He looked down at her pityingly. "Look at you, the great hunter brought low by a superior being. You have pursued me for a very long time, Agent Starre. However, that hunt ends tonight for you, and with me as the victor. As is the proper way of the universe."

He raised his gun, aiming it straight at Audrey's head. Audrey growled in defiance, refusing to give him even the slightest hint of satisfaction by turning away.

The sound of a gun firing ripped through the darkness yet again. However, it didn't come from Raquel's weapon. In fact, he yelled out in pain, dropping the gun and clutching his hand to chest. Mick stepped out and pointed directly at Welch. "I would be more careful about where you point your weapons." he said, in an almost casual manner to Raquel. "Especially when you haven't got someone to watch your back."

Raquel was breathing heavily, obviously in a great deal of pain. But he had also been a hunter for many years. He had learned hos to push past the pain and think coherently. He stared long and hard at Mick, as though trying to place his face. "I know you." he said, after a few moments. "I saw you at the diner that day when we met Kevin. I remember now, you were in the background. I didn't think to much of it at the time. Now, I see, you were watching us."

"I was just revisiting some old human memories." said Mick, "That diner serves really good coffee."

"Ah yes, human memories. So, you are a vampire?" He looked over at Audrey, who was now attempting to struggle to her feet. "I find it difficult to believe that one of your kind would find a reason to defend one of these creatures. Surely you must know what a threat they are."

"I'm sure that it's as difficult for me to believe why you don't feel the same about vampires." said Mick, "Surely, we evil, soulless creatures of the night are just as great a threat as a were. We're the ones who have the uncontrollable blood lust, of course."

"You don't understand, my friend." said Welch, looking up at Mick almost pleading with him to understand his position. "You might be vampires, but you know, at least, how to keep your proper place in nature. These... creatures are less than human, they're not even animals. They're abominations, which left unchecked could decimate us all. It's in our best interests to work together for our own mutual protection."

Welch's ramblings made very little sense from a sane, logical point of view. However, they were spoken with such absolute conviction, such unquestioning belief that it might have been enough to sway the weak or undecided.

_Mick's POV_

_If there's anything I've learned in 85 years, it's that there's nothing more persuasive or appealing then belief. Even if that belief is wrong, people are sometimes so anxious to believe in something, that they'll follow anything, or anyone that gives them a sense of purpose._

Fortunately, Mick was not one of those who could be so easily swayed. He felt his eyes go silver, and he practically growled out his next words. "You try telling that to Eddy Moore. You try telling that to his brother, to his parents. You murdered children, for what they could become. If that's what you think is necessary to protect my species, I don't want any part of it. I prefer helping people like Audrey if it means there be one less of you in the world."

Welch had evidently grown complacent due to his proximity to vampires. He had forgotten how quickly they moved when they had a target. Faster than his eye could follow, Welch found himself on the ground, knocked out cold, by a well place punch to the jaw.

Putting his gun back in its holster, he hurried over to Audrey, who had finally managed to get to her feet, and was half limping, half dragging herself over to him. "You all right?" He asked.

She looked down at her shoulder, and than back at I'm, clearly skeptical. "Right, you'll be better once we get you looked at."

Audrey's panther form chirped in affirmative. Going over to him, she bumped her head against his leg, rubbing against him, in what was almost a gesture of affection. Mick couldn't be sure, but he almost wondered if she was trying to thank him for what he had said to Welch. "You're welcome?" he said, almost uncertainly.

Audrey looked up at him, and simply nodded. Mick thought that was probably close enough. Helping as best as he could, he began to help Audrey back to safety. Behind them, the compound of the hunter's burned, sending sparks and flame into the dark night sky.


	17. Final Kill

**Just as a quick warning: there is a rather gruesome death described in this chapter. I wouldn't call it graphic, but if you have an active imagination and a queasy stomach, just be careful what you read. **

Final Kill:

Once Mick and Audrey returned to the scene of the battle, they found that the conflict was over. The remaining humans in the compound had been killed, and the Cleaners were now combing through the house itself in order to make sure that they didn't miss any who might have been hiding.

The resulting conflict had been more than a little chaotic. Luckily, the Cleaners were skilled at turning human chaos to their advantage. They had also planned for every contingency. They hadn't known if the hunters might have been armed with silver, so they had brought medical supplies with them. However, when Mick came up to the back of the van with a full sized panther trailing weakly behind them, they were slightly at a loss as to how to exactly to proceed.

Nonetheless, with a little bit of creative thought, they were able to remove the bullet and clean the wound as best as they could. Fortunately, the bullet itself had not gone in very deep. Once it was removed, Audrey managed to swift back to her human form, a sight which caused the Cleaners who saw it to gape in shock. Oddly, Mick found that it didn't catch him quite as off-guard as it had. Strange how after only a few days, he had gotten used to it.

"Are you going to be all right?" Mick asked, as the Cleaners went about treating some of the minor silver and burn wounds which the rest of the vampire group had sustained. The two of them were sitting just inside one of the vans, Audrey gulping down a bottle of water which Mick had thought t bring along for her.

"I think so." said Audrey, as she looked down at her newly bandaged leg. She winced a little, as the sharp twinges of pain continued to skate up and down her leg. "I normally can heal pretty quickly, but I'm going to need to take it easy over the next few weeks, no running head-long into dangerous situation, no running after deer in the woods, the usual."

"You think that you'll be able to hide from Ben?"

"If I can hide the existence of vampires from one of the most observant men I've ever met, then I think this shouldn't be to difficult." She smiled at him, looking tired, but more content than Mick believed he had ever seen. "By the way, thanks for what you said back there."

"I meant every word." Mick said, "If the position was reversed, and it was me in a hunter's sight, I hope that you would say the thing."

"I would." Audrey assured him. She looked out over the compound which was still glowing an angry, red orange. "So, what clever cover story have the Cleaners conjured up for this?"

"Gas leak." said Mick, almost matter-of-factually, "They're also taking out a few more houses around here to make it look more natural."

Audrey nodded. "And they got everyone?"

"Everyone that mattered. As far as they told me, all the vamps down in the cellar were just starting to wake up when the explosion happened. They're combing the surrounding area to make sure that they didn't miss anyone. So far, they haven't smelled any other vamps."

"And any of the humans will be scattered without Welch's leadership." said Audrey, "If they survive being hunted down by your Cleaners, which is probably very unlikely, some will try to find other groups to join. But it seems that this cell is finally off the map."

"In that case, I suppose congratulations are in order. Considering how long you've been tracking this guy down, this is a real triumph for you."

"Yes, and I owe you thanks for that. I couldn't have done it without your help. Though, it's also my only regret in this case."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, I think we agreed, whoever got him first, would get the kill. And, you got to him first, so I thought you would take the opportunity."

"Actually, I didn't kill him." said Mick, "I knocked him out, and I told the Cleaners to go pick him up while you were being treated."

"You did?"

"I figured that it would mean a little bit more to you than it would to me." said Mick, as his gaze shifted to look behind her. "I believe that's him now."

Audrey turned around, and sure enough, there was Raquel Welch, zip-tied, gagged and restrained by two of the Cleaners. The lead hunter had fallen a great deal. Gone was the confidence which had so marked his personality. The fear in his eyes, as he took in his surroundings, was unmistakable. And when he caught sight of Audrey, he immediately tried to take a step back, but he was held fast by the strength of the Cleaners. There would be no escape for him.

Audrey stared at Raquel. When she looked at him, she saw the all of the blood which he had shed and the suffering which he had caused. She had hunted the man for nearly twenty years, but always seemed to be one step behind. Now, he was only a few steps from her, quivering and terrified.

_Kill him!_ Her were was whispering, _Make him suffer._

_Oh, I intend to. He's going to die bound and gagged, on his knees in front of me. I can only imagine the humiliation which he must be feeling right now. _

Audrey's face began to transform, her gray eyes changing to bright glowing green. She came forward, her movements graceful, silent and deadly as a shadow.

When she was right in front of Raquel, she knelt down so that she was mere inches from his face. "So, here we are at last, Welch." her voice had grown lower, pitched at certain consonants with an almost guttural, growling tone. "As you said only a little while ago, you and I have never met face to face. But, then again, I have always felt as though I know you quite well already. They say that he best way to know a man is through his work, and I have seen so much of your work."

She snarled, showing her sharpened teeth to Welch, who tried to scream through the gag in his moth, but all that came out were a stream of incomprehensible mumbles and squeaks.

"The children which you cut open to harvest their body parts, the men and women you dissected and experimented on to learn their weaknesses, the families you tore apart, I have been at the front lines, Welch. I have seen and heard it all. And now here you are, tied, gagged and defenseless, just like the prey you hunted. It only seems fitting that this is how you will die."

Suddenly, quicker then any human should have been able to move, her hands shot out, claws extended, planting themselves on both sides of his head. Again, the hunter screamed in pain, as Audrey's claws caused rivulets of blood to begin flowing down the sides of his face. She squeezed Welch's skull, he sickening sound of crunching bone and a wet, gurgling noise mingled with the terrified screams of pain that were emanating from Welch's throat.

"Look at me, Raquel Welch." snarled Audrey, forcing Welch's head upward so that he could look nowhere but directly into her eyes. "Look at me. Know that my face will be the last thing you see on this earth. And whatever godforsaken, hell-hole you end up in, remember that it was me, a were who killed you."

With those final words, she squeezed hard one last time, and the skull of Raquel Welch collapsed inward upon itself, spraying blood and gore all over both Audrey and the two Cleaners, who had witnessed this entire thing with a mix of horror and fascination. They were used to scenes of brutal violence, but it was rare that they saw such acts performed up close by someone who appeared to be human.

Audrey looked down at her hands, but she felt nothing. She glanced over at the two Cleaners, who were still holding the now still body of Raquel Welch. "If you wouldn't mind burning this disgusting pile of refuse until he's nothing but ash, I would appreciate it."

The Cleaners had been caught off-guard by Audrey's brutal assault. But they also had seen to many scenes of humans who had been ripped apart; this was, in many ways, simply a repeat of those same scenes. They nodded wordlessly, and began dragging away the body of Raquel Welch.

Audrey took several deep breaths, as her face returned to it's normal features. _I enjoyed that_. Her were purred.

_You always enjoy that._ Replied Audrey.

_Can I help it if I like it when I get to spread my claws in our line of work? You so seldom let me get to do it._

Audrey shook her head slightly. _I sometimes worry about the effect which you have on me._

_Don't tell me you didn't do enjoy that a little bit._ Her were smirked smugly.

Audrey found herself smirking a little in response as well. _Maybe I did. Just don't tell anyone that._

Mick came over to her, handing her a towel. "Here, I think that you might want to clean yourself up before we head back."

"Oh, yes." said Audrey, as she took the proffered towel. She wiped off her hands, and looked up at Mick. "I hope that didn't bother you. Josef tells me that you're not quite as bloodthirsty as he tends to be."

Mick shook his head. "I've probably done the same thing in my time. Besides, given what you've been through with Raquel Welch, I can't say that I'm surprised. Perhaps, we should just leave this here. It's over. There's no use rehashing it."

Audrey nodded. "Yes, it is over. I don't think that I'll be arguing with you there."

"Come on, we should probably get going." said Mick, "I imagine that Josef will be anxious to hear how the evening went."

Audrey smiled a little. "And I think Beth will be quite glad to hear that you're all right."

Mick returned the smile. "Of the two, Beth is the one which is the most important."

* * *

About an hour later, Josef heard the knock at the door of the mansion. He had been channel surfing throughout all of his several hundred stations, trying to find something to distract him from the worry which was gnawing at the back of his mind. However, when he heard the knock, he immediately jumped to his feet and hurried to open the door, probably a great deal more quickly than he needed to.

Opening the door, he saw Mick and Audrey standing there. Both of them seemed to be in one piece, although Audrey was covered in blood stains, though Josef could smell that it wasn't her's. "Well, here you two are, at last. I was beginning to think you had eloped."

"You weren't worried?" said Mick, with a lop-sided smirk.

"Of course not." said Josef, though neither of them believed him for a minute. "I'd practically forgotten you were even out. But since you're both here and don't seem to have any important bits missing, may I assume that everything went well?"

"I think so." said Mick, as he and Audrey entered the front hall, "The Cleaners are finishing up at the compound. With any luck, when Talbot bring his guys out there tomorrow, they won't find anything beyond a ruined house."

"And the rest of the hunters?"

"The vampires were all taken care of." said Audrey, without any sort of preamble. "If there were any humans who survived the attack, they will have been scattered and rendered inert by now."

Josef gave her a keen look up and down. "You also look like you indulged in a little bit of blood play yourself. Who ruined that shirt of yours'?"

"Raquel Welch did, actually." said Audrey, "I might have crushed his skull, and he had the nerve to splatter his brains all over me without so much as a by your leave."

"Terribly rude." Josef agreed, "Honestly, some people have no fashion sense."

Mick rolled his eyes, and brought the conversation back to a subject he was more concerned with. "What about Beth? Where is she?"

As it turned out, Josef didn't have to answer, as Beth suddenly hurried into the room. "Mick, Mick there you are. I heard you in the other room." She rushed into his rooms, making no attempt to hide her palpable relief. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm all right, Beth." said Mick, feeling the same huge grin spreading across his face, as he held her in his arms. For all the unspoken tension which could result from their relationship, coming home to her made it all worth it.

Josef, for his part, didn't seem to share that sentiment, as he made a face and rolled his eyes. "You two are really going to make me throw up one of these days."

"Please tell me that Josef didn't behave like this all evening?" Mick asked.

"No, of course not, Mick. Josef was a perfect gentleman. He even gave me a blanket to sleep with when I dozed off on the couch a few hours ago."

Mick looked over at Josef incredulously. Josef suddenly seemed incredibly interested in studying the pattern of the wall paper on the opposite wall. "Really, Josef? You getting soft in your old age."

"No, I just didn't want to hear her shivering in her sleep, not to mention that you would have never let me hear the end of it if Beth had caught a cold on my watch."

"Yeah, right, sure, Josef." said Mick, who really didn't believe him.

"But, since the two of you are here, I suggest you stay the rest of the night." said Josef, "Beth needs her rest, and I've got an extra freezer you can use. I think that you both might need some shut eye."

Beth yawned, her eyelids drooping even though Mick was there. "I wouldn't object to that, Mick. I'm feeling exhausted."

"If that's what you want." said Mick, as he actually picked up Beth in his arms, and began heading for the stairs. "Where's this room you've set aside for unexpected guests, Josef?"

"Second door on the left." said Josef, as the two of them disappeared. He looked over at Audrey. "You believe those two?"

"I don't know, I think they're pretty sweet."

"You would." muttered Josef, "I swear, you're the one who's starting to get soft in your old age." He suddenly looked closer at her, noticing that there was a substantial swath of white bandages around her right shoulder. "What happened to you? Are you all right?"

"What, oh this?" She looked down at her shoulder, as though just noticing it for the first time. "I might have gotten a round of silver in me during a skirmish with one of the hunters."

"Silver?" said Josef, his eyes flashing with concern. He came over to her and placed a more than gentle hand on the bandaged wound. When she flinched and hissed slightly in pain, his entire demeanor changed. "You shouldn't have done something like that, Audrey. I wouldn't have pegged you for being one of the stupid hero types."

"Thank you, Josef." said Audrey, with a smirk, "You make me feel so much better with your concern."

Josef huffed, as though trying to cover his worry. "You should rest. You know that these things can take a little while to properly heal."

Audrey was really losing her will to bicker with Josef, no matter how much she might have enjoyed it. She was starting to get very tired, the aftereffects of the silver starting to get the better of her system. "I think I'm not going to fight you on that one, Josef."

"Good." said Josef, as he put his arm around her waist to help her up the stairs. "Just don't expect me to sweep you up in my arms and carry you away."

"Somehow, I can never imagine you doing that. And I almost prefer it that way."

* * *

**I had to give Welch a properly bloody send-off, and it seemed only fitting that it should be Audrey who did it. Hopefully, I made up with up for with some fluff. Or I just gave everyone emotional whiplash. Take your pick. **

**Anyways, we are almost at the end. In the next chapter, our heroes deal with the aftermath of the destruction of the compound. Have they done enough to cover anything that could arouse suspicion? Or are there more secrets hinted at that maybe even they don't know?**

**In the meantime, please leave a review.**


	18. Aftermath

**The final few chapters of this story are all set and ready. So, I just decided to give you all a little gift and post all three of the final chapters at once. Thanks to all of you who have followed me through the twists and turns of this new adventure. However, there might still be a few revelations to be made. I hope that you enjoy the finale of Cat's Cradle. **

Aftermath:

The next morning, when Beth and Audrey came into the office, Ben immediately met them, with the news which they had already been expecting (but, also hoping) to hear: "Well, the good news that I've got for you is that we don't have to worry about raiding Welch's compound."

"Why?" asked Audrey, feigning surprise.

"Because something else already took care of it for us." said Ben, "About 2:00 in the morning, I got a call from the fire department. There was a massive gas explosion at the house which Welch and his followers were using. As far as they've been able to figure out, there were no survivors. Even so, I want to bring a team down to the site just to make sure they didn't miss anything."

Beth suppressed the urge to sign the relief. It appeared that Audrey, Mick and the other vampires in LA had dodged yet another bullet. She didn't know how long that luck would last, but she wasn't going to argue against it, as long as it held.

The three of them went to the site of the compound, and Beth got a good look at the place which had seen such carnage last night. The old house was now little more than a burned out husk of a building, and it appeared as though several parts of the surrounding yards had been burned as well.

While Audrey and Ben went to inspect the house, Beth took it upon herself to look over the cellar which Mick had described as being where the vampires had been using as a sleeping area. She found a few officers and firefighters by the area, and they didn't object to her request to look inside. However, the one investigator who did follow her in seemed puzzled by her interest.

"We can't find that there was anyone staying down here." He said, as she inspected the small room.

"I just want to be thorough." said Beth, though to be honest, she was checking more for signs of freezers or other conspicuous equipment that didn't seem to belong. But, she wasn't seeing anything like that. The Cleaners had once again used their skills well in order to remove any stray components. "Do you have any idea what they could have used for this space for?"

"My guess is some sort of fuel storage." said the officer, "We found a lot of fire damage. A random spark might have set the whole thing off, and from there, it spread to the gas lines of the main house."

"So, you didn't find any remains?"

"No, though it wouldn't have made much difference if some unlucky soul had been in here, they would have been turned to ash."

Beth felt a shiver skate down her spine, as what might have been dust or ash, swirling around her feet. "That's probably true."

Beth was satisfied that no alarms had been triggered by the cellar, but she also wanted to check on things at the house. She went there, and learned from the officer guarding the main door that Audrey and Ben had wanted to inspect the hose themselves, but they had said to let her in.

She made her way towards the living room, hearing the voices of Audrey and Ben, and she was about to announce her presence, when she heard just what the two of them were saying.

"You have to admit that this whole thing is a bit convenient." said Ben.

"You could use that word." said Audrey, "I would prefer to call it divine judgment. Welch and his crew had it coming to them. If it hadn't been myself or you, it wold have been someone else."

"I doubt my superiors will see it that way, but I will try to come up with something convincing."

"You always do, so I have complete confidence in you."

Ben glanced around, as though he were afraid of being overheard. Neither of them seemed to have yet noticed Beth, and there was no one else in the room. However, he still took a step closer to Audrey, and lowered his voice. "Audrey, are you sure that you get all of them?"

"Yes, I'm positive."

"But, did you actually see the ash? How can you be sure they did their job right?"

"Ben, I'm sure. They're very good at their work. This is their area of expertise, after all. But, I saw the fire in the cellar. Five humans would have had trouble surviving that."

Ben looked slightly doubtful, but he finally nodded. "Fine, just so long as they got them all. I don't want five of those things running around continuing that maniac's work. A human hunter is bad enough, but one that's faster and stronger than any of my other men will not help matters."

As she listened to this conversation, Beth found herself experiencing a mounting disbelief and confusion. She didn't know what to make of what she was hearing. The word 'vampire' had never been used. And yet, this conversation was clearly meant to not be overheard. Ben had called Raquel Welch and his men hunters, where before he had always referred to them as cultists. In any other situation, Beth might not have thought much of it, but right now, knowing what she did, Beth couldn't help but wonder.

The references to the fire in the cellar also didn't make things any clearer. The way which they were talking about it, it was almost as though Ben knew more about the truth than he should have. What did he mean exactly when he said he was worried about hunters that were "stronger and faster"? How could he have known that the fire was aimed at a specific target? And why was he questioning Audrey about whether or not they had all been taken care of by the fire?

She shook her head, telling herself that she was being silly. She was reading to much into a conversation that she probably didn't know the entire context of. She had worked with Ben for the last few months. She knew him to be driven and determined. He was a man who didn't like unanswered questions. If he had actually thought that there was something truly suspicious going on, he would have tried to dig deeper. And if he had come across any compromising information, he wouldn't have hesitated to pursue it.

She steadied herself for a few minutes before coming around the corner, calling out in a loud voice as she did so. "Ben, Audrey, are you in here?"

"We're over here, Beth." said Audrey, as she looked over at Beth with a smile. She seemed perfectly at ease, and didn't seem to suspect that Beth had been eavesdropping for the past few minutes. "Glad that you caught up with us. We were just finishing our inspection of the site. It doesn't appear as though a lot survived."

"Same on my end." said Beth.

"Luckily, we found enough evidence that in case we come across anyone who might have survived this inferno, we can charge them." said Ben.

"They managed to identify Welch's body, though." said Audrey, "That means that the primary leader of this little band of cultists has been disbanded. That goes a long way towards making me feel better."

"Yeah, me to." said Ben, and Beth thought that she saw a relieved light in his eyes as he agreed with Audrey. He looked exhausted, both physically and emotionally. It was clear that this case had taken a toll on him, more perhaps than usual. "Once I write up the report on this, I hope that I won't ever have to look at it again."

"Speaking of which, I think that we've found what we're looking for." said Audrey, "I'm up for leaving this place. Anyone second that?"

"I do." said Beth, "Honestly, this place is giving me the creeps."

"I can't say I blame you." said Audrey, "There has been to much death at this place for anyone to be truly comfortable."

Ben only nodded, as he headed for the door of the living room. Beth and Audrey followed. As they emerged into the sunshine, Ben was stopped by a fellow officer regarding how he wanted to wrap up his investigation. Beth took a moment to speak to Audrey in a low voice, "So, what do you think? Does he suspect anything?"

"Ben doesn't know anything that we would want him to." answered Audrey, in a manner that didn't seem to conceal anything.

"You're sure? The last time he came this close to a case that involved vampires, he almost accidentally exposed the entire population."

"And yet he didn't. Trust me, Beth, I think that the vampires in this city are far safer from Ben Talbot than you or even Josef might think."

Beth looked at her, more than a little doubtful. "I hope that you're right, Audrey. It would be a load off of my mind if I could believe you."

Their conversation came to an end when Ben finished his conference with the officer and came back over to them. "You two ready?"

"Yeah." said Beth, as she put on a smile, "Let's get out of here."

As Audrey and Beth followed Ben back to their cars, Beth resolved that she wouldn't allow herself to become to suspicious. The last thing that she wanted was to become as needlessly paranoid as Josef. However, she didn't think she could easily dismiss what she had heard either. If there was even the smallest possibility that Ben suspected something was amiss, she needed to know just what that was.

She wouldn't tell Mick or Josef anything yet, though. She didn't have any proof, and she didn't want to put Ben into any trouble. For all that he could be blunt to the point of rudeness and overly stern, he wasn't a bad man. He was good at his job, and for the most part, Beth was grateful for the chance to work with him. She would simply have to keep a very close eye and ear on him. After all, Ben had hired her because he had said that he was impressed with her observational skills. She might as start putting those skills to good use.


	19. Memorial

**The bad guys have all been defeated and justice has been served. But there still has to be a remembrance for what has been lost. Here we get a little glimpse into a memorial when it comes to a fallen were. But there is also another secret in the shadows that is watching, one that no one would have suspected. **

Memorial:

It was nearing sunset on the outskirts of Los Angeles. On that deserted beach where Eddy and Hank had shared their last moonlight swim, Mick, Beth, and Josef arrived just as the sun was nearing the horizon, painting a molten gold the ever-changing waves of the ocean's water.

Neither Mick nor Beth knew why they were there exactly. They had just received a cryptic message from Audrey requesting that they be there at this time. Josef, as usual, seemed to know about what was going on than the did. However, he wasn't making a big show of it. As they parked their vehicles near the beach, and began walking towards the shore, he told them in a soft voice, "We shouldn't get to close, not at first."

"What going on?" Mick asked.

"Audrey said that she wanted to share a memorial for Eddy with us." said Josef, as they came within sight of the beach. "But, I have a suspicion that the weres are going to want a little time for their own kind first."

As they were about to ask what exactly that meant, they were silenced by the scene before them. Out a little ways beyond the shallows, they saw Hank Moore. The boy was still recovering from his gunshot wound. He wasn't moving as fast or as well in the water as he had been that one night. But, he didn't need to be, because he wasn't alone.

Mick and Beth began to be aware of the two creatures who were in the water alongside Hank. They resembled oddly proportioned dolphins, slightly larger than the average bottle-nose, with oblong tail and fin flukes. Across their greyish-white skin, were splashes of back spots.

The two dolphins were constantly speaking to each other in clicks, whistles and other noises. They seemed to be keeping constantly tabs on each other, as well as keeping an eye on Hank. Whenever he seemed to be faltering or losing his balance against the current, one of them would immediately be right at his side, cooing reassuringly.

Hank didn't seem to be in the least bit frightened, either of the water or the two creatures that he swam with. Indeed, he was never more than a few feet away from either of them, and always seemed the most secure when one of them was beside him.

The scene was touching and moved both Beth and Mick very deeply. They realized that they were witnessing a deeply personal and intimate moment, one which they were certain not many would have been privileged to see. The fact that they had been chosen made them feel strangely honored.

Josef himself was also moved. His manner was serious and respectful, with no hint of his usual snark. "You can count yourselves pretty lucky." he said, after a few moments. "Being able to see something like this doesn't happen to everyone."

"Are those Hank's parents?" Beth asked, unable to tear her eyes away from the scene.

"Yeah, Linda and James." One of the dolphins suddenly leapt out of the water, landing with a mighty splash that sent a spray of water across both Hank and the other dolphin. This led to a splash fight between all three of them, which the dolphins clearly were allowing their son to win. "That boy might not be a were yet, but he's already got more swimming talent than most adults."

Mick and Beth couldn't help but agree as they watched. However, a few moments later, their attention was distracted by the sight of a familiar black panther who appeared out of the surrounding tree. The were form of Audrey Starre walked out onto the beach, the waves lapping at her feet. When she was directly parallel to where the dolphins and the boys were playing in the waves, she sat down, simply watching with what could only be described as a solemn, almost melancholy air.

"What's she doing?" Beth asked.

"Remembering," said Josef, "This is a memorial, you understand. It's not uncommon in were circles, especially when a child dies. Members of their packs come together in small groups with the family to remember and mourn. As it happened so far from their hometown, the Moores decided to hold one here, as well."

Mick and Beth looked at each other, before looking at Josef. "And they wanted us to share it with them?" said Mick, somewhat surprised and taken aback.

"I suppose." said Josef, "It really makes you think, doesn't it?"

As the sun disappeared over the horizon, and the first stars began to appear overhead, the dolphins and Hank came back into a shore. As they came closer, the dolphins shed their marine appearances, changing back to their human forms. Audrey met them, nuzzling up against Linda and James in greeting. She then began to shift back into her own human form. Josef seemed to take this as his cue to go forward onto the beach itself. After hesitating for only a brief moment, Mick and Beth followed him.

As they came up to the small gathering, Linda and James saw them, and came over. Hank stayed back, still looking out to sea, with Audrey standing beside him. "You must be the detective who helped Audrey in this case?" said James, as he shook hands with Mick. "I'm afraid that we never got the chance to meet properly."

"That's understandable." said Mick, "I'm so sorry for your loss."

Linda's expression grew even sadder, and she looked down. James put his arm around her and squeezed her tightly. "From what Audrey tells us, you helped bring his killer to justice." She said, looking back up at them, "That helps, if only a little."

James then looked over at Josef. "I know that you went through some trouble for us, Mr. Koston. I hope it wasn't to much of an inconvenience."

"I can assure you that it wasn't an inconvenience. Hunters are a danger to all of us. They're gone now. If nothing else, we can say that your son's death wasn't in vain."

Beth looked over at Hank and Audrey, who appeared to be in deep conversation. "How is Hank doing?" She asked.

Linda shook her head. "Physically, I think he'll recover. Emotionally, that's a completely different story."

"He and Eddy were close." said James, "Siblings in our world aren't common. On the rare occasions when they do happen, the bonds can tend to be even stronger than those that occur with humans."

"I can't even begin to imagine what he must be going through." said Beth, "But, if he has you two to take care of him, I'm sure that he'll be all right."

"I hope that you're right, Miss Turner." said Linda, "I hope that you're right."

As Hank continued to look out to sea, Audrey sat down beside him. For a long time, neither of them said anything. Audrey sensed that Hank was conflicted, for more reasons than just his grief. She knew that there was a devastation in his soul that none of them would be able to understand.

"I miss him." said Hank, at last, "I miss Eddy."

"I know." said Audrey, her tone much gentler and softer than normal. "What you're going through right now, no one should have to experience."

Hank looked over at Audrey, the tears sliding down his face. "I...I don't know if I want to Change now. Eddy and I always talked about what we would do when I Changed. He would be the one who would show me everything that I can't now. But now, we... I won't have any of that. What's the point of even Changing I won't have anything to share it with?"

"You'll have your parents to guide you."

"They'll teach me, but they won't be able to have fun with me. It's different when you have a brother. And I'm afraid, that every time I go in the water, I'll always be reminded of him, and the pain will never go away."

Audrey put her hands on Hank's shoulders, and turned him so that they were looking face to face. "Listen to me, Hank. I can't know exactly what you're feeling, but I do know what it feels like to lose someone close to you. The pain never goes away. Times makes it a little easier, but it will always be a part of you."

"So, how do you even bear it?" Hank asked, who looked oddly puzzled even in the midst of his grief.

"The best way that I've found is to make the pain a part of me. I don't try to hide it. As long as you feel that pain, you'll never be in danger of forgetting him." She pointed out to the sea. "When you Change, Hank, you'll still have Eddy with you. He'll be in the sea, all around you, and he'll be able to guide you, even though you may not be able to see him."

Hank looked at her for a very long time, and slowly, his eyes grew a little bit lighter and a small smile appeared on his face. "That... that helps a little."

Audrey returned the smile. "And remember you're never alone. You'll always have your pack to help you."

Hank nodded, his smile growing a little wider. Audrey gave both his shoulders an encouraging squeeze, and together, they returned to the group. Linda and James, perhaps sensing that Hank had needed to unburden himself, had allowed their son his space. When he came up to them, though, they gathered him into a hug.

"Does DA Talbot know how grateful we are to him, as well?" sled Linda, after a few moments. "I understand that he's been working around the clock to ensure that any of the remaining hunters escape."

At the mention of Talbot, Mick could have sworn that he saw an expression of worry on Audrey's face. He saw her gaze shift ever so slightly to the side and upward, as though she were looking for something that she didn't want the others to see. Out of curiosity, Mick also looked in that direction. All he could see amidst the tangle of the trees that bordered the beach, was a few scattered seabirds perched in the branches.

When he looked back at Audrey, her face had resumed it's previous expression. He found himself wandering if he had imagined her reaction. "I'll be sure to tell him." she said, "Like the rest of us, he's just glad that the threat has been taken care of."

"We should be going." said James, at last. "We have a flight to catch to Monterrey in the morning."

"Of course," said Audrey, "If I'm ever up that way, I'll be sure to check in on you."

"We would like that." said James, smiling.

The goodbyes were said on both sides, and the Moores left the beach. Once they were gone, Audrey turned to the others. There was a smile on her face, but there was also a palpable sadness to her voice. "Well, I suppose that's the end."

"It could have been worse, you know." said Beth, trying to comfort her. "Welch could have gotten away, or more weres could have died."

"I know." said Audrey, "And I always try to remind myself of that. But, one person still died, and that's one to many."

"And if you let yourself keep thinking that way, you'll never get anywhere." said Mick, "I know how hard it is to lose people in our line of work, but you can't just focus on the negative. Try to remember the good things that you did this time around."

"I will try, Mick." said Audrey, after a pause. "If nothing else, this case has brought me some new allies, as I hope you think the same of me."

"I do." said Mick, "We may have gotten off to a rough start, but you've more than proven yourself."

"Both you and Beth." said Audrey, looking over at the human with a genuine smile. "It's not many humans who can easily adapt to knowing how many strange creatures surround them. You seem to take it all in stride."

"For me, it all seems to be in a day's work." said Beth.

"Good to see that we're all chummy now." said Josef, "This is a great hope for future relations I have to say."

Audrey looked over at Josef with a smirk. "You really do know how to ruin a moving moment, don't you?"

"I have a weak stomach when it comes to this sort of thing. Besides, the night is young and tomorrow you'll be leaving for Chicago. Seems to me, that we all deserve a night on the town."

"I assume you already have somewhere famously expensive in mind." said Audrey.

"When have you ever known me to have anywhere else in mind? No blood, unfortunately, but the wine selection is pretty good. I can't vouch for the food personally, but a lot of my freshies rave about it."

"What do you say, Mick?" said Beth, "I think we can cut loose a little."

"So, we're going on a double-date?" said Mick, with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"You can date if you want." said Josef, "My personal opinion is that this is a more of a friendly get together."

"Or a celebration that I'll soon be gone, along with all the problems that I represent." said Audrey.

"You make it sound as though you can't wait to be gone from my charming company. I'm almost offended by that."

"Josef, let's not pretend that it will be a relief to put this behind us. However, just for tonight, I think I can pretend to enjoy your company, so long as you're buying?"

"Of course, I'm buying. I'm the soul of generosity."

As this exchange had been going on, both Mick and Beth found themselves exchanging knowing looks. These two may have tried to deny it, but there was some serious attraction there, and it might very well have been that they didn't want to acknowledge it. Either way, they found themselves having more than a little curiosity as to how it would play out.

As the four of them left the beach where this entire case had stated, none of them thought to look back in the direction of the tree line, to a falcon who had been watching unseen the entire memorial. Eyes of molten gold, with the keen sight of all birds of prey, while at the same time possessing the intelligence of a human mind. It's body was sleek, steam-lined, built for high-speed maneuvering and aerial acrobatics. The feathers along it's back and wings were steel gray, softening into a creamy white on it's belly and head.

It resembled a larger species of falcon, not particularly uncommon in the area. No one would have thought to look twice at such a bird. But, perhaps, to a trained eye, well-versed in birds, this creature had some odd features, which would have made it difficult to identify the exact species.

However, no one during the course of this small memorial had thought to look closely at the birds which were wheeling around the area, all save one. And Audrey, herself, would not have revealed the answer, as it was not her secret to tell.

As the group left, the falcon took off from it's perch in the trees. With a grace and speed that flowed from it's very nature, it made a low circle of the area, adding it's own piercing cry of pain which came from losing one of it's own. If Mick, Beth, or Josef heard this sound, they didn't really give it much notice beyond the call of nature, but Audrey herself paused for one moment, looked back in the direction of the falcon, and nodded in acknowledgment.

Strangely, the falcon seemed to see this. It gave one last call, before reeling away and heading once more to the steel canyons of downtown LA.


	20. Deceiving Appearances

**Well, we have come to the end of another story in the Moonlight universe. There have certainly been a lot of new surprises on this journey, but there is still one twist which has yet to be revealed. Throughout this story, you might have seen some subtle hints that Ben Talbot knows more than he should when it comes to the secrets which Los Angeles holds. Well, we are about to find out that Ben himself just might have a few secrets of his own. Read on to find out. **

Deceiving Appearances:

_Ben's POV_

_I've made a life of keeping secrets. I know that a lot of people wouldn't believe me if I told them that, considering my job. But, it's true. I've kept so many secrets, for so long, a part of me sometimes wonders if I even remember the person that I used to be, when I used to be human. _

Ben Talbot saw Audrey off the next day. It had been a stressful week for them both, and the two friends really hadn't had a chance to catch up. They had known each other for years. A cup of coffee in the LA airport really didn't give them enough time to catch up on all the important things which were happening in their lives.

"I really need to take a vacation sometime." said Audrey, as the two of them waited for her flight.

"Right, I'll believe that when I see it." said Ben, with a smile. "I can probably count on one hand the number of times you've actually taken time off."

"I guess it takes one to know one." said Audrey, returning the smile. However, there there was a note of bitterness in her voice that colored her words. "Besides, coming out here and working this case has almost felt like a vacation?"

"Oh no, I know that tone of voice." said Ben, growing worried. "What's happening back in Chicago? Is Noah getting worse."

Audrey nodded, "Him and all the rest of the city. The man has the enhanced senses of a bear. You'd think he should be aware of how close he is to a disaster. He does nothing to control the rogue gangs of weres along the edges of his territory, than he and complains whenever the vampires try to strike back."

"Has it reached the inner city?" Ben asked.

Audrey shook her head. "Right now, any violence has been confined to the outskirts, mostly amongst the gangs that have no common place The Cleaners and Betas have managed to clean up before any humans discover the aftermath. But it's only a matter of time before bickering leads to some sort of violence in either group. All it will take is a single spark to ignite what's already a tinderbox."

Ben didn't like the sound of that. He had limited experience when it came to the politics of vampire/were shared cities. But, he had heard disturbing stories of what could happen when both sides lost control. "You've talked to Noah about this? You've had experience in shared cities. He should welcome your advice."

Audrey snorted in derision. "Right, as though Noah would listen to anyone that's not a member of his inner circle."

Ben furrowed his brows. "I thought when you decided on Chicago, the two of you got along quite well. You even said that you might have finally found a place where you could actually respect an Alpha as opposed to being constantly at each others' throats."

"I did say that, and at the time, I meant it. Noah was once an Alpha that I could respect and follow. He didn't always make the best decisions, but he tried. In the last few years, though, he's changed. He's become more isolated from what's really happening in his city. He only listens to the sycophants who hate vampires, and he's not addressing the real issues that concern his own pack."

"You thinking of leaving again?"

"Honestly, I've thought about it. But let's face it, Ben, I've developed quite a reputation over the years. I doubt that there are many Alphas in the country who would be willing to take a chance on me."

"And you wonder why I prefer keeping things simple and staying to myself."

"Yes, simple." Audrey echoed, looking closely at Ben, using more than just her human eyes.

Under her oddly unnatural gaze, Ben shifted uncomfortably and looked away. "You have something you want to say to me, Audrey. Just get it over with."

"You make it sound as though I have some terrible judgment to make against you. I just wanted to thank you for showing up at the memorial yesterday. It meant a great deal to the Moores. And I know how difficult it can be for you. However, it did make me wonder when the last time was you spent some quality time with your were?"

"What makes you think that I haven't?" said Ben, though it was quite clear to Audrey's eyes that he was attempting to keep himself under control. It was a struggle which only the trained eyes of a were would have been immediately aware of."

"Ben, I know that you've had... issues in the past." said Audrey, "Even after all these years, they still bother you. But sooner or later, you're going to have to stop blaming your were for the things which you were manipulated to do. You know what happens when you don't phase on a regular basis?"

"Of course, I do." snapped Ben, speaking sharply than he normally did. "I'm hardly new at this sort of thing."

However, despite his protestations, Ben still heard the whisper in his mind, the voice of his were side that he tried so desperately to ignore. _She is right. You don't let me out nearly enough._

_Be quiet. She doesn't need to know that. _

_You honestly think that you can hide something like this from her of all people? And why **are** you trying to hide something like this from her? She's your friend, the closest friend you have. She's trying to help you. If you're not going to listen to me, you could at least try to listen to her. _

Ben was about to angrily respond, when he heard Audrey's voice suddenly cut into his thoughts. "Ben, are you listening to me?"

Ben blinked, suddenly realizing that to any other person, he seemed to have been staring off blankly into space for the past few seconds. Well-seasoned weres were able to keep the conversation with their other half well-hidden from anyone who might have been watching. Ben, however, had completely forgotten to even try and keep up appearances, and in doing so, had inadvertently revealed just how unstable he could potentially be.

He shook his head, and tried to be as normal as he possibly could be. "I'm sorry. Did you say something?"

Audrey gave him another hard look, one that was almost more penetrating than the one last one. However, she didn't actually take the conversation in the direction that Ben had been expecting. "You know you've taken a risk in relocating here, Ben. There are no were packs near LA, and the city is a bastion of vampires. If they were to find you out, some of them would have a lot of questions."

"I know that." said Ben, "I wasn't actually aware of the fact when I came out here."

"But I can guess that you've had an epiphany since you've arrived here?"

Ben nodded. "Yes, I know that St. John is a vampire. Maybe that's why I had a hard time trusting him at first."

"And you're sure that he doesn't suspect anything?"

"I think that I would be getting a visit from him in the darkest hours of the night if he did. But, you shouldn't worry about me, Audrey. I've done this before."

"Yeah, I know. That's what got me worried." said Audrey, who clearly didn't believe him. "I know how you operate, Ben. There's only one reason why you would have come out here like this. You've found someone new to protect."

Ben's silence was all the confirmation that she needed. "You can't ask me to give this up." said Ben, quietly and with an intensity that was unassailable. "It's the only thing that I can do to make up for the things that I did."

"I know you think that, and I can respect it." said Audrey, "And I'm not worried for your personal safety, Ben. What I worry about is that one day, you'll forget what it's like to live a life where you don't have to be alone."

These two people had two vastly different personalities, and yet, strangely, they had the exact same problem: they were not able to change a life which they were unhappy with. However, they were not yet in a position where they could help the other. Ben was not willing to listen to reason, and Audrey wasn't yet confidence enough in her own abilities to make him do so.

The silent stand-off was broken by the announcement over the PA system that Audrey's flight had arrived. She cast one last reluctant glance at Ben, not wanting to leave things in such a fragile state with her friend. "Ben, think about what I've said, all right?"

Ben forced a smile on his face, and did his best to sound reassuring. He knew that she was trying to help him, but he couldn't help but feel that he was beyond any help that she could give him "I will. And I'll call. Take care of yourself in Chicago."

Audrey nodded, smiling, before she took her luggage, and started down the concourse to go through security. Ben watched her go, and without some of her steadying influence, he began to feel his own were once more whispering in the back of his mind.

_We are weak on our own. You know this as much as I do. _

_Well, I don't know how you feel, but I think I've done perfectly fine. Do you honestly think that we would have gotten this far if we were as powerless as you think we are._ Ben shot back, annoyed.

_Just because we have managed to avoid the Serpent for this long does not mean that we will be able to do forever. _His were hissed, the extreme displeasure in his voice causing Ben to flinch unconsciously. _ However much you may care to deny it, he will find us. And this time, you have overstepped your bounds in trying to protect her._

Ben felt himself growing angry. _I know what I'm doing. _ He protested, _I didn't ask you to but in on my personal affairs. I don't need you! Just crawl back into whatever dark hole you came out of and stay there._

Ben found the strength to exert his own will over that of his were. He felt the presence reluctantly becoming less distinct, retreating back into a little used corner of his psyche. However, that impulse would never be fully dead, it would always be there at the back of his mind. And even as his were settled back to wait for it's next moment to appear, he could heard the whisper one more time: _Never forget who you truly are._

Ben took several deep breaths, and glanced around, agitated and certain that the eyes of everyone in the immediate vicinity would be on him. However, everyone in the concourse appeared to have seen nothing. They were simply going about their daily lives, totally oblivious to the inner conflict that Ben felt every day in his soul.

For years, he had hidden his true nature. He tended to keep to areas where others weres didn't have an active presence, to avoid as much attention as possible. It was not exactly easy. Even those weres who preferred a more isolated existence tended to be part of some sort of pack structure. It went against their nature to be on their own. A were without a pack, was a were who was either about to die or who had something to hide.

And Ben Talbot had a great deal to hide.

_Ben's POV_

_Never forget who you truly are. How can I forget that, when I don't even know who that truly is? I'm a were, but for so many years, I was monster. Now, I try to leave that behind, I deceive in order to find redemption. But so many people trust the appearance I put on, including the one who I'm tying to protect. What would **they, **what would **she** say, if they knew the truth?_

* * *

**And so, we come to the last revelation. I debated for awhile about making Ben a were, but the truth is, I wanted to make his character more than just the stern, suspicious DA. We really don't know anything about Ben on the show; he just shows up in the last four episodes without a lot of explanation. If I was going to keep him around, I wanted to try and do something with him that would actually give him a back-story and a purpose for being in the Moonlight mythos. Several writers have done a wonderful job of flashing out his character. This is simply my humble contribution to that process. **

**It's now clear, of course, that Ben has some ulterior motives for wanting to be in LA, and just what is it about his were that makes him skittish? All of these things are going to be explored in future stories, so stay tuned. **

**That just about wraps it up. I want to thank everyone again who has read or favorited this story. It's hard to believe that it's been so many years since Moonlight first premiered. This show may not have the largest fan base, but it's one of the most dedicated and positive that I have ever had the privilege to be a part of. Thanks for keeping the story of our favorite vampires going. **

**Now, I have mentioned that there will be a sequel to this story. I am working on a rough draft right now, and am aiming to begin posting sometime next month. I can't really give away to much without spoiling anything, but I will probably be posting something in a few weeks that weeks that will contain a few details, and will hopefully whet your appetite for a new adventure in Chicago.**

**Finally, please leave a review. I always enjoy hearing what you think. **


End file.
